


Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Planes of Distortion

by TheLastRanger



Series: The Cosmic Continent [1]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Original Continent, implied sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 06:42:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 57,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13094589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastRanger/pseuds/TheLastRanger
Summary: A dark cloud looms over the Cosmic Continent. A cloud of manipulation, violence, and war: all seemingly leading to a catastrophic end to freedom on Planet Gaia. Finding himself in the middle of this chaos; a young human turned riolu must find his way to survive this cut-throat land with whatever ally he can find, and also uncover the tragic past of the human race...





	1. Dawn of a New Day

((AN) Damn you ranger, another revise?! What game are you playing?!

First of all, I flip flop a lot, second of all, that revise was hot garbage and I’ll just say it was a troll to save what little dignity I have, so here, revise 2.0 hopefully this will be at least slightly better,

****

Lets shamefully begin!

* * *

 

****

 

**_Chapter 1: Dawn of a new Day_ **

 

**Matt**

 

My body tingled in all the wrong places, my mind a haze of neon color and an awful steady beeping. I attempted to make sense of anything, but when I opened my eyes, I saw nothing but azure fog, I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I began to shiver, my breathing grew stunted. Through fighting the feeling, I could hear whispers of many distant voices; some familiar, others completely unknown. I closed my eyes, in some kind of attempt to make the voices out of the beeping.

 

_ “Come on Matt, you can’t leave us… _ ” a young girl's voice cried, distraught obvious in her voice.

 

_ “He’s a—” _ a gruff man’s voice reasoned, any and all emotion drained. His voice was hazy, hard to even make out, I couldn’t make out full words.  _ “He’ll make it through, the boy’s tough _ .” I felt drawn to him like I knew this man. Who was he?!

 

_ “I’m sorry James...he won’t pull through...an aura sphere to the head. No human can survive that. Especially a teen as small and feeble as him _ .” A second woman echoed, her voice shill and unkind.

 

_ “...”  _ James was utterly silent for a moment.  _ “What did this? It...it was Lady, wasn't it?” _

 

_ “Unfortunately so.” _

 

_ "..." _ James refused to speak.  _ "...That bitch..." _

 

_ “Bring justice for him, James. Enlist again… _ ” Her voice began to fade into the nether too, much to my disappointment.  _ “The Corporation needs men like you, Commander—” _ she faded completely, along with everything else. The steady beep had now turned into a completely flat tone, as I lost consciousness entirely…

* * *

 

 

My eyes burst open, my lungs taking in as much oxygen as physically possible, as my body was plunged into a sitting position. As my breathing regulated, I took a moment to observe my surroundings. Seemed like I was in a forest of tall pines, an afternoon sunlight shimmering through the late winter canopy. Felt like I was sitting in a patch of cold grass.

“James?” I looked around myself, searching or any sign of my friend...acquaintance? Strange...who was James? I bought a hand to my chin, rubbing it in recollection. My mind drew a blank.

 

I felt a cool sweat form on my brow, panic starting to take over again. I was quick to my feet, anxiously searching my surroundings.

 

“J-James?!” I desperately called out, expecting him to respond; but all I heard was the trees dancing in the cold wind. My body went into full fight or flight mode. I raised my hand into to my face, I noticed something extremely wrong; my hand had been replaced by a blue paw, three fingers, and no thumb. My eyes slowly followed my arm; which was covered by the same course set of fur. Looking down at my feet, I physically recoiled at what has become of them, pitch black, and stubby, my ankles pointing backward uncomfortably. What happened to me?!

 

I decided to run, from what though, I had no idea. I swerved in and out between trees, frequently tripping over my feet. I could already feel tears stinging my eyes. Through my distracted sprint, I tripped over myself, directly into a small river. I peered at my own reflection, my blue and black fur, pointy ears, and short muzzle. I was no longer human...I was a riolu.

 

After thoroughly soaking my face in the water, for the best part of ten minutes, I accepted my new form, only somewhat.

 

Standing up, I noticed a path. Following it, I came to a fork in the road, a sign in the center. North was Felicity Creek, West was the Howling Gorge, and south was Dead Coast. Before I have a chance to decide, a light humming catches my attention. Skipping down the path from the Gorge, was an eevee, her face that of bliss. She slowed down at the sign, stopping to check it’s directions, an occasional glance shot my way. I tried to pay no attention to her, but she turned her head to me.

 

“Um...'ello there…?” She asked lightly with a strange accent, her mousy voice suggesting she was young. I was about to question the fact she could talk but decided it wasn't too far-fetched, given the circumstances.

 

“Uh...yes? What do you need?” I muttered quietly.

 

“You’re taller than me, which way is Felicity Creek?” She eyed up the sign, trying to see the arrows.

 

“That way…” I pointed northward, internally noting the ridiculousness of this situation. “Why, are you headed there?”

 

She nodded.

“Mmhmm, I’ve always wanted to go there! They say it’s the most beautiful town in the Eastern Reach!” Her smile widened, as she rummaged through a pouch on her side, pulling out a worn maroon book and skimming through the pages. I glanced at the title, making out ‘Legends of the Land’ written crudely on the front cover. Guess that happens when you got no thumbs. "And I'll be buggered if I don't go there!"

 

"B-buggered...?" What was she speaking about...? Her dialect was odd...was it because she was a pokemon or...?

 

But the eccentric eevee paid little attention to my question, as she was too busy staring down at a map that was attached to her book via a paperclip, while oddly squinting.

 

“Aha! My map says there’s a cave this way with some bloody beautiful paintings on the walls on this road!” She squeaked in delight. “Oh, where are my manners? Where are you headed Mr. Riolu?”

 

I froze for a second. Where was I going? I had just been shoved into a foreign body, with no memory apart from my name, and the name of this ‘James’ character. I had absolutely nowhere to go. Licking my lips, I responded:

 

“F-Felicity Creek too, I’m...looking for a friend, he’s wasn't at the Dead Coast.” I lied, not even knowing what that location even was.

 

“You were at the Dead Coast?” She tilted her head, her big brown eyes glistening with excitement. “Did you see the Red Eyed Cyclops?”

 

“No...unfortunately…?” The same childlike excitement left her big brown eyes.

 

“Hmm, that’s a shame...anyway, we should get going! Felicity Creek is still quite a walk away!”

 

“We?” I questioned her.

 

“Of course! We are both heading there, might as well go together.” She chirped.

 

“Erm, ok…” I mumbled, taken aback by how trusting she was, especially to a complete stranger she has never met before...

 

“Smashing!” She held her left paw out to me. After a second of hesitation, I knelt, taking her soft paw in mine and shaking it lightly. “My name is Hazel by the way! Nice to meet you!” A big grin appeared on her face as she enthusiastically shook my hand.

 

“Um...I-I'm Matt, nice to meet you too Hazel…” I felt the corners of my mouth raise into a subtle grin. “We should get moving, huh? Long walk ahead of us…”

 

“Alright Matt, let's go!” she looked at her now soaked hand, looking to me afterward. “ By the way, you’re soaked, what 'appened?” She wafted her hand about, trying to dry it.

 

“I fell in the river when drinking…” I chuckled, hiding my lie. I had to admit, lying to this girl wasn't very pleasant, but I could imagine what her reaction to saying ‘I’m a human, just to let you know.’ Not the most normal thing to tell a stranger. She chuckled back at me, placing her book in her bag and pulling out a towel, giggling the entire time, handing it over to me. “T-thank you…” She displayed good patience, waiting for a complete stranger to dry himself. Odd girl.

 

After I was thoroughly dried, we began to move up the north path, at a decent pace. “So Matt, I’m curious, why do you have a human name? Those are exceedingly uncommon.”

I quickly thought of a lie.

“Oh, I just have. I’ve just known I’ve been Matt for as long as I can remember.” A statement which wasn’t entirely untrue, but still isn’t quite right.

 

“Hmm, didn’t your mum or dad name you it?”

 

“That’s the thing, my memory isn’t exactly the best…” I was digging a bigger hole for myself, but as long as I didn’t tell her too much, hopefully, I’d be fine.

 

“You can’t remember your own parents?!”

 

“It’s a touchy subject, I’d rather not speak about it…” I weakly told her.

 

She looked like she wanted to question further, but nodded understandingly. “Aight, that’s fine. Anyway, I think we’re getting close to the Cave of Beginning, we could make it there by sundown.” She said, eagerness returning in her voice.

 

Roughly two hours had passed since I’ve woken in this land, and I was still highly confused, choosing to be a man of few words, or teen, in this case. Hazel didn’t seem to mind too much, she just rambled on about all the books in her bag. I think she just liked to speak, which I had no problem with, as long as I had at least some company keeping me sane, I’d listen to her. We eventually made it to a cave entrance, marked with two torches at the opening of the slate wall, the entrance was completely pitch black inside, rather ominous considering the sun had only now begun to set...

 

“Hold on, I think this might be a Mystery Dungeon,” Hazel stated, flipping through the pages quickly, squinting. “Hold this a second.” She handed me the book, quickly rummaging through her bag, retrieving a pair of blue ovular glasses, which looked like they had its fair share of use. After holding them at an acceptable angle, she motions me to give her book back. “Yep, says here it’s a Dungeon. We better be careful.”

 

“Mystery Dungeon?” I asked, instinctively tilting my head. She gave me a look of sheer confusion from behind her specks.

 

“How have you made it this far without even knowing what a Mystery Dungeon is?”

 

“Uhh…” I mumbled, giving her a blank look “C-care to explain? Just as a refresher...”

She looked at me, then to the entrance repeatedly. “It'd be easier to explain if we just enter.”

She turned around, entering the cave without even waiting for me. I dropped my shoulders, 

glancing at the forest around me, before sighing and following her inside.

* * *

 

 

_ Cave of Beginning-F1 _

 

Light poured into my eyes as I...awoke? Strange...what was this place? I quickly examined my surroundings, noticing that I was in the center of a square cave room with no visible entrance to be seen. I quickly scoped out Hazel, who was waiting for me with a chipper grin.

 

“W-what is this place?”

 

“It’s a Mystery Dungeon!” She chirped. “These places are wonderfully strange natural occurrences, which are never the same each time around.” She read off her book once more, adjusting her specs as they balanced on her small muzzle. Licking her paw and flipping a page, she continued her small lecture.“However, they are quite dangerous, so be wary. Hopefully, this goes smoother than the last one I was in.”

 

“What happened then?”

 

She shook her head “Hurt my paw, nothing too bad. Used the last of my Oran berries, though.”

 

I would’ve loved to ask what an Oran Berry was, but I didn’t want to look crazy, even more so than I already did anyway. I simply smiled and nodded.

 

“We should get moving, no use just standing here, hope you can fight.” After placing her glasses and book in her bag, she began to lead through the cold slate cavern, a skip in her step. I needed to jog to catch up with this ball of fluff and energy.

 

While following her, I just stared into space, trying to recall anything I knew. But my mind drew blank every time. All I really knew: was that my name was Matt, I was a human, and I knew a ‘James.’ Deep down, I was petrified, I desperately wanted to cry. But I couldn’t; what use would it have been? None. I just had to find James. That’s all. I had his voice engraved into my mind. Where he could’ve been was a different question entirely, but no amount of crying could fix this. If I stayed with this Hazel, I needed to tell her eventually. But that was not here nor now. Right now I needed to adjust to my form.

 

“Matt! Geodude incoming! Feral!” Hazel shouted from up front, getting into a defensive position. I heard a light growl emerge from Hazel, as she began to circle the Geodude, in some attempt to intimidate it. I stood idly by, contemplating how to make my move. 

 

Clenching my fists, I lunged for the attacker, trying to punch him, only to trip over my own feet, landing on my front, those strange tendrils that hung from my temples impairing my vision. Hastily shoving them out of my face, I saw the rocky creature engaging Hazel with swinging arms. The poor fox swiftly avoided his attacks, eventually stumbling and falling over.

 

She quivered as a fist was headed straight for her. From the floor, I lunged over in the geodude’s path, catching the fist in both hands, protecting Hazel. The feral was shocked for a second, before recoiling backward. With a gulp, I charged him, my open palm making contact with his face, sending him flying back into a wall. I stood frozen as I stared at my hand, shocked that such a minor attack did that. I shook my head, concluding that it wasn’t the strangest thing that’s happened today, not by a long shot. Turning around, I knelt down to a shocked Hazel, offering a hand to her.

 

“You ok?”

 

Her eyes just examined me up and down, as her mouth was slightly agape. She smiled at me warmly, nodding her head in gratitude. She grabbed my paw, but as soon as I pulled her up, she gave me a brief and thankful hug.

 

“Thank you, Matt,” she eventually composed herself. “anyways, the exit…” she turned to another passage, entering it and heading down. I stood there, just baffled. I shook my head and sighed

 

“It’s gonna be one of those days, isn’t it?” I thought to myself, starting to jog after Hazel…

* * *

 

 

_ Elsewhere _ …

 

**Lana**

 

My eyes burst open from my meditation, as I began gasping for air. The moment had come at long last. I examined my surroundings, the cave as colourless and dead as I left it. I immediately scoped out my husband: an umbreon, who paced back and forth, looking as angry as he always did here. He stopped when he noticed me staring at him, his maroon eyes filling with concerned love.

 

“Martyn, the time has come,” I stated, jumping to my feet. “The interloper has arrived. I felt his presence.”

 

“You're absolutely sure it's 'im?”

 

“I’m sure of it. It’s him,” I hastily explained, waiting for our captor to appear. “Look, I’ve got a plan, all I need is time.”

 

“If that bastard shows up, I’m gonna rip his gem out of its socket!”

 

“Don’t do anything hasty, Martyn, he has our daughter...we cannot afford to lose our little-"

 

The sound of space-time tearing filled the immediate area, as matter began to tear at our shelter's entrance. From the pitch black void at the other end of the portal, a red hexagon lit, staring Martyn and me down. It remained still for a moment, before approaching the portal. Jumping through the rift, was a violet coloured starfish, with a large ruby encased in a golden ring upon its front and with another star gently spinning on its back. It was Lord Starmie.

 

“Lana Fox.” He coldly stated, placing his arms behind its back, to the best of its ability. “How is my favorite Espeon? I assume you already know why I’m here...It would be...wise...not to procrastinate.”

 

“You bloody bastard! You expect us to-!!” Martyn shouted at the seemingly uncaring being.

 

“M-Martyn, enough!” I ordered him, which seemed to have worked, as he silenced himself.

 

“Obedient like a dog I see. I’m glad you have your...pet...under control, Lana.” Starmie said, purposely agitating my husband. I simply scowled at the monster. "Anyway, I'm getting rather ahead of myself...I require your... vision...dear Lana. I might just...compensate you...if only you obey.”

 

“Like seeing our daughter…” Martyn mumbled.

 

“Of course. I’m quite merciful you see.”

 

“Y-You call this mercy?!” I demanded, making the Lord actually look at me. “Seven years of imprisonment, only showing us our little Girl twice!”

 

Starmie was unresponsive for an awkwardly long amount of time, just staring at me, it’s gemstone flickering. It eventually began to speak again “And dare I say, is it not mercy that she is well fed, given proper sleeping chambers, and most importantly…” it approached me slowly, getting so close that I could see my own reflection in its ruby, before quietly continuing. “And remains...untainted?”

 

Just the very mention of the thought seems to have triggered Martyn, as he roared at Starmie “Don’t you even fucking imply that!”

 

“And what if I do? Are you going to cry to your wife like the cuckold you are?” Starmie's voice quickly went from an ominous whisper to a horrifying roar.

 

Martyn just charged at Starmie, a shadow ball charging in his mouth. I was about to intervene, but Starmie was quick to unleash a massive thunderbolt into Martyn. The attack sent him flying into a wall, paralyzing him almost instantaneously.

 

"M-Martyn!" I gasped as my darling twitched on the floor.

 

Starmie remained uncaring throughout the entire ordeal, simply turning to me and commenting. “What do you see in him? Is he that good in—?”

 

I spat at Starmie, directly hitting his large gemstone. I immediately regretted my action, as I took a step back from him, almost trembling. The Lord was frozen for almost a whole minute, before dragging me towards it with telekinesis, my paws scraping against the stone floor, enough to draw blood. Once I was at point-blank range, it slapped me across the face, hard enough to burst my lip.

 

“I suggest you keep your bodily fluids to yourself and your husband. Lest you want your entire family's ashes to litter my chambers..."

 

I shivered at the very thought “Y-you wouldn’t d-d-dare…”

 

“You’re right. I wouldn’t. Given that you...cooperate...of course.”

 

“What do you want…?” I admitted defeat.

 

“Excellent. I need your sight of course. I’m looking for a certain...interloper you see. And my vision is...nothing...compared to yours. I can’t let the prophecy come true you must understand.”

 

“I’ll help...but you do know prophecies by nature cannot be stopped,” I explained, getting ready to meditate, mumbling under my breath "not that you'd care..."

 

“Perhaps. Maybe it’s part of the prophecy that it...fails.”

 

I scowled at him. “maybe...let’s just begin the damn ritual.”

 

My eyes shut tightly, as psychic energy began to flow around the cave, the ruby on my forehead beginning to glow. With much haste, Starmie immediately began to tap into my psychic waves. Our vision became one, as the proverbial inner eye opened for both of us.

We could see everything. The most insignificant of Joltiiks to the mightiest of Wailords. We saw every minute interaction, every major event, we could see everything. The haze of clairvoyance began leading us to a cave, near the center of the land, where a cave stood, surrounded by a large winter forest of pines, where all was still. But then, we felt it. The presence of someone who didn’t belong. We saw the purple haze begin to take a blue hue, taking on a foggy appearance, the figure of a mighty creature stood frozen in the center. Tall, terrifying and a long-dead creature. A human being stood proudly in the center of the aura.

It was the Interloper.

 

The human clutched its head in seeming agony, as it screamed silently, before the young, but still imposing creature fell down, dissipating into the wind, leaving only another creature in its wake: a Riolu.

 

Starmie suddenly broke the vision without reason, causing both of us to collapse, the Lord falling to a knee, whilst I collapsed completely.

 

I could feel Martyn helping me up from the floor, as Starmie was quick to its feet, opening the portal behind him.

 

“Thank you for your cooperation m’dear. Now, I’ll uphold my end of the deal. I’ll let you see your precious daughter. But just remember:” he walked over to me again, gently running a star point over my throat. “Disobey, and she dies. Understand?”

I nodded at him, desperately wanting my daughter in my arms.

 

Starmie turned to the portal, barking orders into it “Bring the prisoners their daughter!”

 

After a moment, an aegislash floated through the rift, holding my baby by the scruff of her neck. It's cold monocular gaze pierced all around it.

 

“Mummy! Dad!” She cried, struggling in the swords grasp, trying to break free.

 

“Be still Heretic!” Aegislash roared, probably traumatizing my precious daughter.

 

“It’s alright Sir Aegislash. Put her down.”

 

“As you wish, your highness.” The knight bowed, placing her on the floor gently, to which she darted over to Martyn and me, throwing herself into my arms, and crying.

 

“Shh...it’s alright…mummy’s here…mummy’s here...” I held her as tightly as the day she was born.

 

“See, Lana? If we dispose of the...interloper...I’ll release you, your husband and your daughter. Your cooperation is vital to our operation.”

 

“I-is that a promise, Starmie?” Martyn asked with sheer disdain oozing from his mouth.

 

“I am a man of my word. Keep watch over these two. Give them fifteen minutes.” He ordered Sir Aegislash. And he calls Martyn an obedient dog…

 

“Your wish is my command, milord.” He bowed once more.

 

I made a mental note to savor every moment with my little blessing...

* * *

 

 

**_End of chapter 1_ **

 

(AN) hoo boy, that took some time. Anyways hopefully that was better than that abomination of the last revise. Tell me your thoughts.

As always, this has been TheLastRanger,

Peace.


	2. Reminders of the Past

(AN) Alrighty, chapter two. Ok, guys I implore you to go back to chapter 1, I’ve changed it for the better, with the help of one ArrowHeadLock (thanks for the input buddy!) please disregard any and all information that from the old version that was corrected. Alright, many thanks

TheLastRanger

Let’s begin!

Chapter 2: Reminders of the Past 

——————————————————  
Cave of Beginning-F2  
Hazel 

I continued to lead Matt through the cave, I was quite grateful for the save back there. He was quite brave...still, a riolu? They are extremely rare in the Eastern Reach, and to run into one with a human name? I must have been the luckiest girl in the world. Part of me wanted to sit him down and just talk about his past, but he did seem awfully quiet about...well everything. I think he was just shy. I occasionally glanced back toward him, seeing his face was mostly blank. I hoped he was listening to everything. I frowned, turning my head away from the aloof teen, upset at how distant he was. I decided to ignore his silence; to focus my attention on this Dungeon, pushing onward to the end. 

Cave of Beginning-F3

We eventually made it to the deepest point of the Dungeon: The Chamber of Past Days. The stone chamber sprawled outward, creating a dome room, with water flowing throughout the chamber. Sunlight poured down through large cracks in the walls, illuminating the white murals on every surface of the Sanctum. I could feel the breath being ripped from my lungs. Taking the back path from Howling Gorge was the best decision I’ve made all year. 

I turned round to Matt, looking for his reaction. My face dropped when I saw his dull, emotionless expression still on his muzzle, his eyes half opened. I huffed, shifting my attention from Matt from what I’m assuming is the first mural. It depicted two species living in separation; Humans and Pokemon. As I move along, carefully stepping on stones in the water, I followed the story. Humans seemed to have united with Pokemon, the two races joining for survival. 

Time progressed, the humans had begun to wield strange orbs of some kind; these drawings were quite simplistic and difficult to decipher. Eventually, a grand symbol decorated the wall: A large sun with the letter V in front, with many men and women holding it high. I started at this one for a while. I’ve heard of this symbol before.

Mom told me about it. She said always to avoid anywhere with that logo. ‘The False Virtue’ she called it; always speaking with disdain in her voice. I look back at Matt, slight expression marked on his face. His mouth was ever so slightly agape, as he adamantly gazed at the False Virtue insignia. 

“I’ve seen this before…” he muttered, stepping towards the wall, soaking his feet in the cold water, seemingly uncaring. “I recognise this symbol…”

I raised my brow at him as he was almost knee deep in icy cold water. “Have you visited here before…?”

“No, I-” he almost froze upon placing his palm to the stone wall. His aura feelers began to hover, his eyes turning blue. I trembled in a mixture of fear and anticipation. I’ve never seen a Riolu use the aura before! I attempted to reach for my glasses and book, before Matts voice pierced my hearing, sending me flying out of my fur practically “For a brighter, better future...right dad?” 

I was at a loss for words at how random that statement was. “M-Matt?” I was about to take a step towards him, only stopping when my feet were almost in the water. He stumbled backwards, a look of abhorrent confusion on his features. He looked like he was having a panic attack! He suddenly tripped himself over backwards, almost clocking himself on the head. Thankfully I caught him by standing on my hinds and putting my paws under his armpits, however I couldn’t support his weight, so I had to lower ourselves to the ground.

He was out cold. What happened? I just stare at his unconscious face, before my eyes shifted to the final mural.

It was by far the largest human depicted in the room: in its titanic grasp, it held a spear, with the Virtue flag hanging from below the blade. My eyes widened, jaw dropping. It was the beast, the most terrifying human to have ever existed. It’s story is still spoken of today. How does the mantra go again…ah yes! I began to whisper the story, taught to me by my father.

“And there we stood, the beast and I, our armies knew that it was about to die. Through broken heart and burning fury, it stood and faced its final jury.” 

I closed my eyes, still cradling Matt almost. My mind began to wander, remembering all I’ve heard about the Beast, and who he once was…

——————————————————

Matt

My eyes shot open, blinding blue light flooding my vision. Once more, I seemed to be in this haze. Using my memory of the last time this happened, I tried to listen for any voices. I started to pick up some!

“That’s right, Matt. You’ve actually done research?” That was James! I adamantly listened to what he said. “By the way, where’s your brother…?”

I wanted to respond, but my own voice interrupted me. “Jeb’s walking Lady at the moment, Dad.” 

“Hmm, that’s a shame. I suppose I’ll just have to bring him another time, as for you, come on. I’ve got an appointment with someone from corporate. And you need to come with me. Can’t leave you home alone.

“I’m fifteen, dad. I can take care of myself.” I responded in a very teenager tone.

“Is that how you broke your arm last time?” James taunted. “Besides, haven’t you always wanted to visit the headquarters?”

Silence was thick between myself and James, before my past self spoke up “Y-You’re going to the headquarters?” 

“Yup.”

“Will you be meeting with any of the board members?” My voice began to beam. “Who is it?! Frederick? The Vinson Twins?”

The lack of context was killing me. But at least I now knew that James was my father...I needed to find him…

I listened to my conversation with dad, it may not have been interesting to most, but it was something at least. A memory, which at least tells me my memories aren’t completely lost. 

“You’re gonna have to dream bigger, Matty.”

“You’re taking me to ms Lockhart? How did you—?!” My past self asked, excitement obvious in my young voice.

James chuckled “Just because she’s that famous, doesn’t mean she’s not my friend. We go back a few years.” 

“Wow…” 

“It’s why the Virtue Corporation holds us in high regard…” his voice begins to fade, as I began to awaken…

——————————————————

My eyes flutter open, staring upward towards the ceiling. My entire lower half feels soaked: again. I peered to my side, seeing Hazel, nose deep in her book, her glasses slipping down her muzzle. With a groan I push myself into an upright sitting position, rubbing my eyes. 

“You’re awake! What happened?!” Hazel closed her book, walking over to face me.

“Ugh...nothing...I just got sensory overload...it’s nothing…” I explained, trying to stand, my legs giving way. Whilst helping me up, she’s giving me the strangest look she’s ever given me. (Even though I’ve only known her for about four hours now.)

“Just a sensory overload? Strange...you weren’t seizing at all...are you sure you’re alright?” 

Once I’m back on my feet, I stretched, cracking my back, before dropping my arms, and demeanour. “Look, I’m fine. If we’re done here, can we get moving again? It’s been ages since I’ve last used a bed…” a lie that wasn’t entirely untrue. Hazel frowned, pouting slightly. 

“Fine...lemme just jot down a few more notes first.” She adjusted her glasses once again, her eye twitching when she couldn’t arrange it properly.

“Alright.” I sighed, gazing up at the largest mural, before realising how soaked my lower half was. “Oh, and Hazel…”

“Hm?” She looked at me from over her book.

“Could I borrow that towel again…?” I shivered. 

I heard Hazel giggle, rummaging through her bag. In my distracted moment, a still slightly damp towel obstructed my vision, her giggle turned into full on hysterical laughter. Truth be told, I somewhat enjoyed the feeling of it over my face. After a second, I pulled it off of me, begging to dry myself, ignoring the laughing girl behind me.

Even after drying myself for the best part of fifteen minutes, I was still damp. This fur was unmanageable, so obnoxious. I stared into my reflection again from the pool of water. Still a riolu. So many questions, so little answers. I’m on the verge of tears inside, but my face is strong, uncaring. As long as I kept the act up, I’ll push through. I wanted to go home. But that was impossible just now. I hoped to god that this “Felicity Creek” would offer some kind of clarity. Perhaps if I could find more hints of my kind, maybe, just maybe, I could piece together what little memories they could give. 

“Alright Matt, I’ve got enough down, ready?” She began to pack up, placing her items into her satchel. “Oh, and could you hold onto that towel? I don’t want it soggying up my notes.” I gazed at the yellow fabric, before slinging it under my armpit. I waited for her to give the cue.

“I’m ready.” I looked at the exit; a crude staircase leading up, to what I’m guessing was the surface. 

“Righty-o. Come on, I think we’re nearing Felicity Creek now.” She began to lead me up the stairs, the once cool cavern becoming humid.

The stairs led directly into the surface, only separated off by a small wooden hatch in the ground. A rush of humidity washed over me, as we exited into what appeared to be a dense jungle of some sort. I was honestly taken aback at how sudden the change of environment came. It was night time now, but only late in the evening when we entered. This environment was strange…

“So, at last. We’ve arrived in the great central jungle.” She stared at all the different wildlife, her eyes practically gleaming. “According to the map...it’s only about half an hour to the riverboat landing. Once there, it’s homefree. Well just bunker down on the boat for twelve or so hours, then it’s all smooth sailing; so to speak.” She stifled a laugh, likely at her own joke. 

I just looked at her, our humour not quite meeting eye to eye. She awkwardly coughed, before leading once again. I just blinked at her, before following again. 

She remained awkwardly silent as we trotted along through the jungle. I took a moment to observe her character. She was a bit...much. I wasn’t too fond about her rambling, she did seem like she was just using me as some kind of personal listening device. I have noticed her occasional glances over my way. Every time we made even the slightest amount of eye contact, she looks away. I decided to avert my gaze from her, for the time being. We’re most likely going to split after arriving at the town. But In the meantime, I’m going to tolerate her. Hopefully I could get some sleep in on the boat ride, given the humidity doesn’t keep me awake at night. I shook my head, those black tendrils slapping my face slightly. Gah...they’re so annoying! I attempted to adjust them into a manageable position, but to no avail. I sighed, letting them fall, resting on the sides of my cheeks. I dropped my shoulders, sighing at everything. Home was all that I could think about.

I rubbed my eyes, a yawn escaping my muzzle. How long was I traveling…? I’m not sure, maybe about...four to five hours? My feet ached and my eyes were heavy. I really just wanted to snooze. I dunno, maybe this was some awful dream. A very lucid, awful dream. 

After about...who knows? We reached a pier over a massive, yet calm river, a small line of Pokemon awaiting the boat. Most looking about as drowsy as I was. I turned to look at Hazel; who was reading a sign stating all the prices, squinting as she couldn’t properly see. 

“Matt, how old are you?” She suddenly asked. “Because if you’re under seventeen, it’s cheaper. Good thing I’m sixteen.” 

“I...I’m fifteen.” I replied, honestly surprised that she’s older than me. 

“Good good!” She rummaged in her bag, pulling out a sack that jingled, full of currency I guessed. “Good thing my adventures earned me all this.”

“Y-you’re paying my fee too?” 

“Of course. My pleasure.” She stated in her usual bubbly tone, a smile blessing her features. 

“T-thank you…” I was truly grateful, considering money wasn’t even on my mind. 

As we waited in line, I took a moment to observe everyone else, going about the end of their routine. In front of me was a Flygon, quietly humming to himself, clearly enjoying himself. Just joining the cue was a Bayleef and Chikorita, both carried containers in their vines, filled to the brim with an assortment of fresh fruit and berries. Chikorita is yapping away at her either her mother or sister, cousin perhaps. Bayleef didn’t look very impressed at whatever her younger counterpart had to say. 

The boat finally arrived after another twenty minutes, and by that time, I was almost asleep. The boat was rather large actually, probably able to carry up to ten Pokemon of various sizes. All I knew is that the second I rest my head, I’ll be asleep. The boat came to a complete halt, a dewott and prinplup anchoring it to the dock. 

“All aboard!” Shouted the prinplup, her voice quite tired. 

My mind was a hazy mess of exhaustion, I could barely make out being herded onto the boat, a brief memory of Hazel paying. Other than that, I didn’t really care. I jumped upon mine and Hazel’s seat, a rather uncomfortable wooden bench, but as long as I could rest my everything, I was fine. I let out a huge yawn as I curled up into a ball, while still sitting upright. Hazel joined my side, sitting a tad too close to my liking. 

“Geez, you’re looking shattered, you should get some sleep, Matt.” Hazel stared at me, a look of concern on her face. I gazed back at her.

“Why...?” 

“Why? Because you’re tired and you—”

“No, why are you being so...generous to me?” 

“Why? Because. You seem nice. I can sorta trust you. My pa always said little acts of charity are always good.” She explained with a jolly smile. “And besides, I could always use a two-legger to hold some stuff for me. You’d do that for me, right Matt?” 

“Er…”

She giggled even more “I’m just playing with you. I’m just happy I now have a travel buddy.” She nudged my shoulder. 

“Likewise…” I quietly responded with a yawn, before both of her paws tightly wrapped around one of mine, shaking it thoroughly, knocking me out of my trance.

“I guess that makes us official buddies then! What next? A rescue team?” Her quiet giggle turned into a full on laugh, gaining the attention of probably everyone on board. My cheeks burned in embarrassment as I tried to make myself smaller. She eventually broke her iron grip, rubbing a tear from her eye. “Anyways, imma let you get some sleep Matt. It’s been a long day. Just holler at me if you need a blanket.” 

A light smile appeared on my muzzle, as I shifted into a more comfortable position. “Thank you Hazel...you’ve been too good to me…” I close my eyes, resting my head on my hands. “Goodnight…”

“Sweet dreams, Matt, and you’re welcome.” 

I began to drift into sleep, as I recollected all that’s transpired today. It certainly was extremely weird, and almost impossible to properly comprehend, but without her, I probably wouldn’t be on my way to civilisation, albeit not likely among my own kind, but still. I’ll need to repay her at some point. But for now? We’re travel buddies, I suppose…

——————————————————  
Elsewhere…  
Sir Bisharp

With crossed legs, I sat in my chamber, awaiting my next order. An order, which finally surfaced after about two months of inactivity. My master’s voice rang out in my mind, overpowering all of my thoughts and feelings. Hmph, that starfish irritates me. 

“Sir Bisharp! Report to my chamber immediately! I’m in need of your expertise.” It’s voice hollow as it usually was. I feel it’s presence leave my mind as I regained control over myself. 

With a sigh I stood up, admiring all the weapons and tools I’ve gathered over my life. Running my hand across an old human blade, I made my way out of my room, using my other hand to keep this damn cape in place.

My metal feet echoed loudly throughout the slate coloured hallways of the obelisk, all my underlings froze to salute me as I passed them. I peered out into the endless purple sky from a open hole in the wall we call a window, reminding me about the persecution I’d face back home…

Brushing my thoughts aside, I reached the red hexagonal door leading to my master’s abode. Waiting also were Aegislash, Pangoro and Gardevoir, all dressed in the same ridiculous purple capes. I joined the trio, crossing my arms.

“Sir Bisharp? It appears we’ve all been summoned for the same reason. It appears the time hast cometh.” Aegislash pondered, his arms firmly behind his back. 

Pangoro snorted, hardly even acknowledging our presence “As long as we ain’t cooped up in this bloody tower any longer.” He grunted.

“Oh how I’ve longed to be of any use once again! Yes indeedy.” Gardevoir dramatically stated, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. “Aha, wouldn’t it be lovely to bend the lives of weaklings once again?” His face still oozed a disgusting amount of enthusiasm, his red eyes contorted into a wink.

“Quite...on the other hand, we have all been summoned like Sir Aegislash said. Starmie must be plotting something big. Very big. What do you think?” I asked, tapping my foot on the ground.

“Has the master’s elaborate game of chess just come into fruition? Will his elegant schemes and schedules be properly fulfilled? Will—” Gardevoir’s irritating tangent was interrupted by Pangoro.

“What the bloody ‘ell are you trying to say?!”

“Aha, I forgot you are about as subtle as an explosion in a maternity ward.” Sir gardevoir sighed.

“Wot?!”

Gardevoir simply burst into insane laughter, stopping only when Starmie’s door slowly began to open, the aroma of seaweed and saltwater assaulting our nostrils. Once fully open, Starmie’s voice sounds once again.

“Enter…” we all glanced at each other, before entering.

We crossed a large bridge of crystal, hanging above a pit of murky black water, with no walls in sight, eventually leading to a spire with a ten pointed star decorating the floor, with a large crystal in the centre. Very subtle. We all took a knee in front of the crystal, sans Aegislash who rotated himself downward into a bowing position. 

Seawater splashed over us as Lord Starmie jumped up from the depths of the pool, executing a somersault, before landing on the crystal. The star on its back rotated as it observed us closely, the lack of any real expression causing us to freeze up. 

The silence was becoming unbearable, until someone just as unbearable had to interject “A flawless arrival, master. You were like a beautiful girl, cascading through the night sky, blessing us all with a wonderful shower as you emerged!” Gardevoir exclaimed, a smile on his face.

“I do not need your bravado, Sir Gardevoir. I suggest you irritate your fellow knights with it, specifically while I’m not in your presence.” Starmie peered at the flamboyant knight.

“As you wish, your excellence…”

“Wonderful.” The Crystal lord muttered, sarcasm obviously lining it’s voice. “Anyway, I have summoned you all here for a reason. The reason being? The Interloper. The Traitor: Lana Fox has informed me of this threat’s whereabouts and identity.” Starmie explained.

“There could be a possibility she could be lying, milord. She has tricked us before.” I said, gazing up at my lord. “How can we be certain—?”

Starmie shook its...body at me, approaching a cage with an Eevee trapped inside. “Not to worry, Bisharp. I’ve gotten the perfect tool to keep mrs Fox in check: Her daughter Gwendoline. I believe you’re acquainted with her Sir Aegislash.

“That I am milord.”

Before Starmie had the opportunity to continue, gardevoir spoke again, much to everyone’s dismay. “Ahh Lana and Martyn. My favourite two little puppies. Tell me, does that cave still reek of their evening activities?”

“We don’t want to bloody know you nonce!” 

“Silence!!” Starmie hissed, both Pangoro and Gardevoir flinching at its words. At least Aegislash and I were intelligent enough not to incur the wrath of Starmie. We just closed our eyes and waited for Starmie to continue.

“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,” Starmie composed itself “The interloper has appeared at last. This is unacceptable. He will ruin everything given the chance. I want him in my arms. Safe, and secure.”

“Wouldn’t it be better just to kill him…?” Pangoro hesitated to ask. 

“A logical conclusion, yes, but the interloper has...powers, powers I wish to study…” he began to conjure a portal, likely into the normal world. “I’m entrusting all four of you to apprehend and capture the interloper. I suggest you keep the questions brief, I cannot hold this rift for too long…”

“Just give us that creature’s description, and he shall be yours, milord…” Aegislash spoke before anyone else could.

“R-riolu...average features for its kind, blank expression…” 

I nodded, marching over to the portal, taking a step through, into a forest of some kind, before turning to the rift and shouting: “Make Haste brothers!” I waited for the others to follow. 

Gardevoir was the last to join us, as the rift closed behind us. We were now alone in this world, we needed to tread carefully now. The blades on my forearms extended with a loud hiss as I slowly began to move.

“Just teleport us as far away from the target as humanly possible…” Pangoro complained loudly, as he began to follow.

Interloper, wherever you may be, you will not escape the Children of Distortion...no one can...

——————————————————  
End of chapter 2

 

(AN) 

Chapter 2 completed, and hoo boy was it long. Anyways, massive shoutouts go to ArrowHeadLock again, helping me out with plot stuff.

But as always, this has been TheLastRanger 

Peace.


	3. Felicity Creek

(AN) back for another round? I'm gonna set a goal for myself- 3000 word chapters are not allowed. Even if it's 2999, I won't use it. Feel free to call me out if you notice the length of a chapter. Also, I've retconned Matt's eye colour from red to brown, just to differentiate him. Just to let you know.

But now that the rambling is out of the way,

Let's begin!

_**Chapter 3: Felicity Creek** _

* * *

 

_**Hazel** _

The boat gently rocked and swayed, traveling along the great river's path, under the pale moon of midnight. I really should have been asleep, but thoughts were keeping me awake all night. Mainly surrounding the riolu to my right. He was certainly quite strange, yes, but I couldn't just leave him behind, especially with memory issues. Plus, actually traveling with somebody was a nice change from all the roads I've walked alone.

I've long since packed my book and glasses away, for I was unable to read due to the lack of visibility. Instead I gazed at the great starry sky above, an activity I've rarely seen, due to the rainy conditions of my homelands: The Western Reach. Still, I've always wondered what the differences between the Reaches are, other than landscapes. From what I've heard, the East was more kind and accepting than the West. Maybe Matt knew, The Dead Coast is in the Eastern Reach's borders.

I shifted my attention to the snoozing riolu. He was lying on his side, using his hands as pillows, his head resting quite close to my side. He gently snored, as all seemed peaceful, though he did shiver due to the crisp night time air. I bit my lip, knowing that my blanket was snuggly wrapped around my body like some kind of cape. I wanted to drape it around him, but I was too cozy. But I did have thick fur. (a double coat to be precise.) I was uncertain about the consistency of his fur, even with our minimal moments of physical contact.

"Matt…?" I whispered, making sure that he was properly asleep. After no response, I held my breath, slowly placing a paw between his ears, feeling for his fur's length. To my surprise, (and regret) his azure coat was much shorter than mine, being more wiry, rather than fluffy. He must've been more suited for warmer environments. I should've noted that down, if it wasn't so bloody dark.

With a regret filled sigh, I pulled my source of warmth from myself, placing it over his form. He shifted in his sleep, snuggling into the blanket and smiling. I chuckled slightly, ignoring the subtle coldness nipping at me. I must say, it was quite the cute sight, even though he was practically a stranger to me. Shaking my head and quietly giggling, I curled myself up into a ball, hoping to stave off some of the cold. I glanced at Matt with one eye open. He was still gently wrapped up and cozy. With a sigh, I closed my eyes, as I awaited what the famous River Town had in store for Matt and I, as I drifted away into dreamland…

_8 hours later…_

The sounds of a heavy bell ringing plunged me into consciousness as I jumped in fright.

"Felicity Creek inbound! Just another hour until we arrive!" The dewott Captain shouted loudly, waking everyone who didn't hear the bell probably. "Please Keep a hold of any possessions, you don't want to be losing anything in the Eastern Reach's Sapphire!"

Rubbing my eyes, I yawned, looking over to Matt; who's strangely brown eyes fluttered open, as he began to sit upright, the blanket resting on his shoulders. He felt around at the fabric keeping him warm with one paw, the other holding his feet as he sat cross-legged. I gave him a warm smile, waving at him.

"Good mornin' Matt! Sleep well?" I asked, searching through my rucksack for something to eat "almost there…"

"...good morning…" he yawned loudly, politely putting a paw over his mouth. "By the way, was this you?" He tugged on the blanket, a look of curiosity on his face.

I simply nodded, pulling an apple from the bag, handing it to him.

"Thank you…for the blanket...and the food…" he tiredly mumbled, his ears struggling to stay pointed, flopping to the tops of his head. His bloodshot eyes focused at the environment, lazily scanning it. "This jungle is huge, I've never seen anything like it." He points out of the thick canopy of jungle looming over us from atop the great stone valley carved out by the river.

I secretly hoped I'd start moulting soon, because the heat and humidity was really bad for my fur. I always did want a summer coat, or as close to summer as I could get. I was far too used to the cold, if my fur could be more like his, that'd be fantastic, less work to wash as well—

"Uh...Hazel?" Matt's voice snapped me out of my little trance, his paw waving in front of my eyes "Are you alright?"

"Huh? What?! Hello?! Hello." I blurted out, my head twisted to make eye contact. His face was that of sheer confusion, his mouth slightly agape, eyebrow raising "what are you wanting?" I smiled at him again.

"Oh, it's just you went kinda quiet…" he mumbled, blankly staring at me, his brown eyes half open, whilst taking a bite of his apple.

I looked away from his cold gaze, instead opting to look at the massive wooden gate our boat has just stopped at. Two staraptors stood elegantly perched on two poles, keeping watch over the glen. The duo looked at each other, before one spoke in a booming voice that oozed authority.

"Halt! You approach the first gate! State your business!" The staraptor sentry looks down upon us, flicking his red fringe aside aloofly with a wing, his plumage fluttering in the wind.

The prinplup captain was quick to respond, sarcastically and angrily "We're a boarding party ready to lay siege on Felicity Creek—What do you think? We go through this gate everyday! Just open up!" She tapped her talon on the wooden deck of the large rowboat.

"We know, but Magnezone will have our tailfeathers if he found out we let you through without question…" The sentry's voice was infinitely less intimidating as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well you have our reasons now." Captain dewott calmly stated, his hands on his hips. "So y'know…"

With a sigh, the other staraptor shouted down behind the gate. "Open the Gate!" His voice echoed through the valley, as the huge gate opened slowly, the boat began to move again.

I fidgeted around on my seat, knowing that Felicity Creek was now just around the corner. All of my childhood dreams about this place began to surface again. I remembered reading about the Sapphire Library, the hot springs, the town hall and the bazaar. I was practically drooling. It may have been have the size of The Western Reach's capital city: Crucible, it more than made up for it in beauty and safety.

My stomach rumbled, destroying my thought process. I'd've looked through the ever so trusty bag, but i remembered I gave my last apple to Matt, which was unfortunate. Needed to find a restaurant or tavern. Maybe get a good drink in too. I dunno.

I thought about how that was the 'first gate.' Was there more gates? Hopefully not too many more, I couldn't wait any longer. I looked around myself, my eyes landing on Matt, before I remembered he's not been to Felicity Creek; at least I didn't think so. I swivelled around in my seat, until I faced a flygon, who just stared blankly into the sky, a light smile on his face.

"Excuse me mister, may I ask how many more gates there are?"

From behind red goggles, his eyes look down at me. "Oh? First time at the Creek? Well, you better get comfortable, we've still got four more to get through." He chuckled.

"Thanks mister!" I said, hiding my disappointment through sincerity. He smiled politely at me as he nodded. I turned back towards Matt, who looked like he was still half asleep, not even bothering to take the blanket off of his body. I couldn't comprehend why he was so tired, he must've gotten at least eleven hours of sleep. Lazy git.

"How you hanging lazybones?"

"Hmm…? Lazy?" He said while rubbing his eyes. "Just tired...just tired." He yawned, very lethargically, I might add.

"If it's alright with you Matt, mind if we pop into a restaurant or pub? I'm kinda hungry."

"Mhmm...Fine, sounds good…"

I made a noise somewhere in between a laugh and a groan, diverting attention away from the sleepy biped, focussing it on my diary I've retrieved from my bag. Or the fourth diary, to be specific. I opened it up, as I began to jot my thoughts down, as I did every day…

_**Matt** _

RThere I sat, half awake, with the warm blanket Hazel gave me around my shoulders. To be honest, I was ready to sleep even more. I think I deserved at least some rest, all things considered. Instinctively, I wanted to burrow myself into the blanket. Though I'm unsure if it was my new body, or if I just like to hide myself in general.

We passed through the remainder of the large gates, before our destination was in sight. I felt a wave of awe overcome me, as I caught a glimpse of the city. It stood proudly in the valley of the river, a grand settlement of wooden boardwalks and archway bridges, along with what appeared to be large balconies built into the massive glen.

Hazel jumped down from her seat, making her way to the bow of the small ship, standing on her hind legs, with her front on the rail, her large bushy tail wagging like mad. I decided to join her, after removing the cloth from myself. Crossing my arms, I stared at the distant city, the gentle breeze fluttering my fur.

"Wow...it's even more impressive in person...don't you think Matt?" She looked over to me, her eyes brighter than the harsh sun.

"Yep, sure is." I smiled in anticipation at what this town had to offer. I could feel something on my upper backside swishing back and forth. Must've been my tail, the same tail that made it impossible to sleep anywhere but my side

The boat pulled into the packed docks, as visitors of all sorts, the Pokemon all being registered by Magnemite police officers. The second we stepped foot off onto the docks (We were the first off, thanks to a certain eevee's hyperactiveness) a magnemite swooped down in front of us, it's monocular scanning us.

"Names. Age. Now." It demanded quite aggressively.

Hazel was unaffected by the metal ball's loudness "Hazel, sixteen years old, Sir." She smiled.

The police officer nodded, while his buddy took notes. "Excellent. Now you."

"Matthew...fifteen...officer…" I nervously replied, staring at the floor as if I was in trouble, rubbing my feet against the floor.

"Alright, you're both registered. But remember: no funny business, or it's the slammer for you two."

"Point taken Officer. Cmon Matt! I'm starving." She jogged ahead, leaving me and the police officer making brief eye contact, before I bowed my head politely, running after the girl.

Eventually I caught up to her, as she had stopped to try and look at a map hanging from a post.

"Matt, I need your tallness again, do you see a pub anywhere?" She tried to catch a glimpse of the map, but her tininess was playing against her.

I ran a finger across the map, tracing the shape of the pathways and locations. I recognised some of the landmarks pointed out by Hazel earlier. My finger eventually stops on a location I believe to be a local tavern, it was an out of the way location, built into the valley walls to the north.

"There's one there, the Tepig and Whistle." I pointed out to the bar on the map. "Does that sound good?"

"Tepig? Do you think they do bacon there?" She stifled a laugh, looking around herself to see if no one else was listening. "I've yearned for the taste of fresh meat for a while."

I stared at her, my jaw beginning to open in horror. Her deadpan expression broke, as she burst into laughter, again, my face heating up.

"Oh please. I'm just pulling your leg." She nudged my knee. "Mostly." She began to walk somewhere.

"Hazel! Wait! You don't know where you're going!" I ran after her, the floorboards creaking underneath my feet.

10 minutes later

We entered the busy tavern, the sound of a jolly bard band playing and the stench of alcohol assaulting my nostrils. I looked down at Hazel; who eyed up the large circular room, excitement gleaming in her face. She lead me to an out of the way table sat in its own little alcove. I must say, it was very cozy with a little torch on the wall above the chair. I just noticed how the table and chair are on the exact same height.

"So. Guess we can rest our poor feet, eh Matt?" She let out a relaxed sigh, waiting for the barmaid to arrive. "It's been a long journey."

"You could say that again." I crossed my legs, resting my hands on my feet, letting all tension in my body disappear. Only now have I realised how much my little paws hurt. I internally felt guilty for putting my bare feet up onto the seat, but pushed the feeling aside upon realising that no one in here is actually wearing shoes.

After a little while of waiting, a roselia appears before the table, announcing herself with an upbeat: "Hello! What can I get you two?" She smiled, retrieving a notepad and pencil from the depth of a rose, her eyes shifting from Hazel to me, though it looked like she took more interest in me, for whatever reason.

"Tea for me, please. Two sugars, and milk please." Hazel politely asked. "And a few biscuits, too."

I thought of what I wanted for a second, before instinctively responding: "Coffee. Black, please." I don't know what compelled me to request for that, maybe it was my preferred drink of choice back in my human days. Who knows?

"Will that be all?"

"Yes please." Both Hazel and I responded in unison. The barmaid nodded to me, looking at her notes and turning for the kitchen.

Once she was out of view, Hazel began to giggle to herself "She was totally checking you out." Her comment was both random, and embarrassing.

"N-no she wasn't…" I mumbled, averting my eyes from the eevee, who just giggled even more. "B-besides, I'm not interested in that stuff…"

"What? Flowers or love? My, aren't you romantic?" I could imagine the look on her face.

"Shut up…" my ears drooped, my fur hiding blushing skin.

After another awkward pause, the barmaid returned, holding a tray with a mug and a teacup on it, along with a plate with an assortment of biscuits on it. She placed it down on the table in front of us, bowing slightly as she left.

"Enjoy!"

I grabbed the large steaming mug, the bitter aroma blessing my nostrils. Something about this particular brew...felt different. I was somehow familiar with the smell of coffee, but this smelt divine. Blowing on it to cool, I took a sip. The taste...it was...delicious. Letting out a coo of satisfaction, I shifted in my seat, grasping the warm mug tightly. At least this was familiar, removing some of the tension from within me.

I glanced over to Hazel, who delicately held her cup; a little teacup for a little teacup fox. Fitting. She took little sips, trying her best not to make any noises.

She reached for the plate, picking up one of the sugary treats, before examining it closely, her subtle smile growing.

"Aww, Matt, look. It's a little staryu! Isn't it adorable?" She held it up to show me, pointing at the little cherry in the centre of the icing to represent the pearl. I chuckled at the cute snack.

"Guess it is quite cute…" I rubbed my chin, before a brilliant idea popped into my head. "Hold on a second." I grabbed two of the star shaped ones, eating the cherry off of one and using the icing as adhesive if some kind, I placed one in the back of the other upside down, showing it to Hazel.

"It's a starmie now."

Hazel completely lost it at that as she began to laugh like a maniac. Again. She tried to compose herself, as tears of laughter rolled down her cheeks. "That's genius...you know, I've always wanted meet a starmie. I heard that nothing shines more brilliantly than their gemstones. Too bad most of them hang out underwater." She sighed, as she's calmed down completely. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever met a staryu either…" She contemplated, taking a sip of tea thoughtfully.

We sat in relative silence, enjoying our drinks, listening to the upbeat music, as other pokemon danced enthusiastically in time to the lutes, flutes and accordions. Hazel eventually put her cup down, removing her bag and placing it on the chair next to me. I stared at her curiously as she hopped down onto the floor.

"Want to dance?" She offered a paw.

"No thanks...I don't know how…"

She dropped her paw in disappointment. "Oh, that's alright. You can look after my stuff then." Her disappointed pout turned into a sly smirk "Not very romantic are you?"

"Shut up…"

"I'm just playing with you, if you wanna, you can read the book in that bag; the big one. Don't touch the other ones, they're personal, ok?" She explained as she left to dance.

I opened the leather pouch, revealing four to five books, the towel from earlier, along with the blanket. The bag had a hefty weight to it, but Hazel could carry it around no bother. Quite impressive. I took out the largest of the books, the one about legends, specifically.

I began to flip through pages, quietly saying their titles out loud "The Eternal Struggle of Arceus and Algaloe...The Red Eyed Cyclops…The Outlands…" I whispered to myself, ignoring my surroundings. I froze at a certain page. It displayed two very good sketches of a human man and woman. I'm impressed with the anatomy and detail, especially because of her lack of thumbs.

"Humans (Homosapien) were widely considered to be the single most adaptable of all creatures on the planet, with decent strength and high intelligence." She wasn't wrong. The average build and physique of the human varied from person to person, but as a whole, they stood roughly six feet tall and weighed one-hundred and fifty pounds on average, with the regular lifespan lasting seventy to eighty years, although in rare cases, they have reportedly lived up to ninety to one hundred. Although not as physically strong as us, they did have terrifying amounts of stamina and willpower, along the ability to craft weapons from just about anything. Legends reported that they fought with an entirely different level of ferocity."

"Humanity; at least from what I've seen; have provided the basic fundamentals for our society to exist, using concepts such as currency, government, architecture and agriculture. Their language is also quite sophisticated, using a diverse collection of noises and body language, opposed to our basic forms of communication we once used: barks, growls, ect. Many refuse to believe it, but without human intervention: all pokemon, everywhere, would remain feral. No different than the beasts that lurk around in mystery dungeons, and for that, I am grateful.

I read this section of the book for what felt like hours, (although it was probably only about twenty minutes.) eventually coming to the end of this topic, disappointment washing over me. "Unfortunately, my research into the matter has concluded as all the legends say: humanity has reportedly disappeared entirely. Even scouring through their ruins has gotten me very little yield or information. This is truly illogical and inconceivable. No species can just fall off the planet like that. It is my belief that someone else is trying to rewrite history, destroying and fabricating any clues as to the true fate of Humankind. As much as I've tried to piece what little surviving clues remain to find the truth, it seems that the answer may have been lost forever-Hazel."

My eyes widened at the last note. I could tell her now. I honestly had no idea about what kind of reaction she'd have, or if she'd even believe me, but this girl is the only person who could believe me. I felt an overwhelming amount of luck; at the fact that I just happened to bump into an eevee who knows this amount of information about my true kind. I also felt dread, as I realised that she'd probably see me as absolutely insane if I admitted who I really was, likely causing her to abandon me, which was far from what I wanted. She's the only reason why I've made it this far, admittedly.

I was about to leave my seat, but Hazel was already on her way back to the table, a less than amused look on her face. She jumped up next to me and sighed.

"Hazel? What's wrong, are you—" I tried to ask, but was interrupted by her.

"Can I ask you for a favour?" She was uncharacteristically serious. "Look, this might be hard to explain, but...look, there's this yungoos who keeps leering at me. It's quite uncomfortable…" she huffed, and closed her eyes, blurting out: "I'm sure he's seen me come here, so could you just…hold me. Just to trick him into leaving me alone."

I began to burn up in embarrassment "Couldn't...couldn't we just leave the pub?"

"Thing is, I was enjoying myself here...look, if you do this, you won't have to pay me back for anything, deal? Hurry, I hear him coming."

Without any other choice, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to my side, our fur brushing against one another. Hazel shifted much of her weight into me, trying to get comfortable. Suffice to say, I was extremely embarrassed, yet extremely thankful for my new coat of fur that hid the embarrassment quite nicely.

"Ok, this is good. Just act like we're a right proper couple, and make it sound convincing! None of that flowery—" her eyes dart to the yungoos who had just turned the corner and had spotted us. "I love you, Matty." She purred, hypocritically, I might add, nuzzling my chin. I just awkwardly stared at her then to the weasel.

"Uhh...love you too…?" I brought my other hand around her, giving her the shakiest hug I could muster, forcing a smile.

"You serious? What kinda girl doesn't dance with her mate?!" The blonde rodent demanded.

"Piss off, plonker!" Hazel hissed, her nose coldly pressed up against my neck. I stifled a chuckle at this new attitude of hers. Teacup indeed.

"Don't be like that! Don't think this chump would like that!" His aggressive face shifted into slyness. "I wouldn't mind though…I like mine feisty." He tried eyeing her up, but I made sure to obscure her as much as possible with my arms. I had since stopped laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, getting quite annoyed at his insult.

"Back off pal." I firmly stated, giving him my coldest look I could muster. "Don't make me do anything I'll regret." I removed my hands from her side, the bar's attention slowly shifting to us.

"Ooh big guy, I'm so scared!"

"I'm warning you." I instinctively lowered my head and body, my hands clenched into fists. "Back. Off."

While filled with anger, I still noted the absurdity of this fiasco. Either I was defending Hazel like some knight in shining armour, or I was just a really convincing actor.

"What do I care?! I don't need a who—" his insult was interrupted by the barmaid speaking a single word.

"Officer…?"

All eyes turned to the door, revealing a single off duty magnemite, who stared at the yungoos with sheer disdain "No need to explain. I got it all."

Yungoos froze, all colour washed away from him, as he slowly turned to face the metal ball. "Hey...Officer...lets not do anything hasty now…" he backed away from the magnemite.

"You are under arrest for disturbing the peace!" Its magnets sparked, before the policeman, rushed over to the weasel, his magnets making contact with the yungoos' torso, as he began to convulse from the electricity coursing through him. I grimaced and looked away, as I heard Hazel gasp.

The yungoos fell to the ground, twitching and seizing, as the magnemite uncaringly looked down upon him, before grabbing his tail with one magnet, using the other to tip its cap. "Crisis averted, get back to your drinks everyone, and put one on my tab." It dragged the 'criminal' out the door, mumbling about not having its morning coffee. The bar was in utter silence, before the bards started to play again.

The barmaid ran up to me, profusely apologizing. "I'm so sorry sir...is there anyway we could make it up to you?"

I looked to Hazel who just looked down at her empty cup. "Just a refill of mine and her cups, please."

"Right away." She retrieved the cups, bringing them back to the kitchen, as I joined Hazel again.

"That was...something." I sighed, crossing my legs to sit.

"Yeah...Sorry about that...but, thanks. You saved quite the headache." She smiled gently at me.

"No problem," I responded, repeatedly going over what just happened a few minutes ago in my head. "But still, Matty?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Heh…I just thought it would be a cute pet name, y'know, if we were ever a thing." She explained casually, looking at the still open book on the table "Oh! I see you were looking at the human page! That's my favourite subject!"

"Yeah...about that...look, after we have our drinks...I need to speak with you- in private." I peered around at all the possible prying eyes.

"What, no flowers?" She gave me a look of faux promiscuity.

"What…? No! I'm being serious Hazel!"

She just stared at me blankly, a good sign.

"And I wasn't?" She grinned at me as I started to burn up. This girl...was something else entirely… "Alright. I'll play along." She nodded as our refills were placed on the table, as we began to discuss other matters.

We eventually left the bar roughly at midday, with the sun shining over us brightly, a rush of humidity washing over me as we left the cool pub. The now afternoon city was bustling with activity, as pokemon continued in their routines. Just about everyone was smiling. Even through the harsh police force, this city seemed genuinely happy. The sound of running water and people talking was quite relaxing actually.

"Alright Matt, where to next? The Bazaar, or the Sapphire Library?" Hazel cheerily asked, as chipper as ever. I considered my options, eventually deciding that the library would be the most secluded and quiet location to potentially tell Hazel about my...heritage.

"Let's check out the library. It sounds pretty impressive and all."

"Righty-O! To the library!" She ran off. Again. I sighed, dropping my shoulders and grabbing the bridge of my muzzle with two fingers and squeezing it, before running after the eevee. If she kept this up, I'd have to hold her hand the entire way there, at least if hand holding was even possible between us.

With an agitated 'ugh' I jogged after her, as she again was going the wrong way.

After catching up with Hazel, and setting her on the right path, we as slowly as possible worked our way through the city, taking in as much as we could. This place was quite beautiful, the more of it that I've seen, I had to admit.

I couldn't help but smile every time Hazel pointed out a gondola that would pass under the bridge we were on. She seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, which, for whatever reason, made me happy too.

In the centre of the wooden city, stood a grand circular marble tower, which stood tall above the rest of the great city, surrounded by its own wooden pier, with what appeared to be a park of some kind. Many Pokemon relaxed in the shadow of the mighty building, on a thin layer of grass. Many played, including the chikorita and bayleef from earlier, while others decided to sit and read, with books borrowed from the library. I couldn't help but ogle the structure, captivated by its sheer beauty.

"The Sapphire Library...it's beautiful…" Hazel said as if she was in a trance. "They say it's the oldest building in the entire Reach."

"How old would that be?"

"Hmm…" she closed her eyes, rubbing her chin thoughtfully "Two hundred and fifty years...roughly."

"Wow…"

"Mhmm! And hopefully, we'll meet the famous Librarians!"

I tilted my head at her, feeling my ears flop. "The who…?"

"Only the five most intelligent Pokemon in all the world!" She swooned over the prospects of meeting the five "I take it you're not as much of an avid reader as I am…?"

"No...I don't keep up with the latest in book related news…" I scratched my head nervously.

"Let's see if I can maybe ring a bell…" She thoughtfully said, concentrating her hardest "There's the: Historian, the Consular, the Cartographer, the Curator and the Surveyor. Heard of any of those names?"

"...no…?"

Her jaw dropped, as her brown eyes scanned me up and down rapidly.

"Do you even know the modern world? These are the head honchos of smartness! The pinnacle of genius!" Her tail wagged like mad, as I could tell she started to blush "to stand as a member of the council...oh that would be so amazing…" she seemed to snap out of it as she noticed me staring blankly at her, a bashful expression appearing on her face "ahem, sorry about that."

"How about we go in, so I can meet them?" i suggested, desperately wanting to tell her the truth.

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!" She ran ahead, actually knowing where she was going this time...

_Elsewhere…_

_**Sir Bisharp** _

_Cave of Beginning-F1_

We entered the Dungeon via a entrance that a path directly entered to. Convenient, but still too much hassle. Why Lord Starmie teleported is this far away was beyond me. But as long as this mission goes according to plan, I'm satisfied.

My comrades and I proceeded down the linear cave path, with Sir Aegislash taking the lead; being the most experienced of us four. Sirs Gardevoir and Pangoro shoot side by side in the middle, whilst I watched their backs. As I always did. I say watch, but all I did was stare at my metal hooves and waited for the dungeon to end.

Even as we stopped to fight some ferals, I refused to take action; there was no honour or glory to be obtained here.

"What's the matter Bisharp?" Gardevoir asked while throwing a nidoran around with telekinesis, killing the tiny creature "not in the mood to fight?"

"Hmph. Hardly a fight," I responded, staring at Pangoro as he was about to ram a feral geodude onto a stalagmite, looking away only when both rocks made contact with a crunch. "I'd call this dishonourable display an execution."

"Grow a spine Bisharp. Your whole 'Honour' speil is a hindrance to the operation," Aegislash criticised whilst cutting a paras in half "you have just gained your title, Bisharp. I suggest you uphold it."

"Are you insulting golden boy there? You can't do that! He hurt a big bird and captured two little traitors!" Pangoro guffawed whilst clapping geodude remains off his arms.

I didn't even bother to react to those three, as I knew it would be counter productive to do so. I just rolled my eyes and waited for them to finish. Even if something tried to attack me, I'd just kick it into the others, letting them handle it.

After all was said and done, the other knights dusted themselves off, after putting so much effort into the battle.

With a sigh, Aegislash beckons us to follow, which we do without question, not bothering to pick up any stray items lying about.

Cave of Beginning- F3

The last floor of this particular dungeon was some kind of monumental chamber. To whose paintings matched decorated the vast walls of the sanctum, a collection of stunning murals depicting an ancient war that besieged this land many generations ago. Some of these paintings I've actually seen replicated on papers in Lord Starmie's chamber, though what interest or knowledge on the subject, was something they would never elaborate on; which was rather unfortunate.

"Look...humans…" Pangoro points to a painting of the symbol that has caused so much strife and misery, held aloft by many biped creatures. "Who drew these…?"

"Who cares?" Gardevoir shrugged "These paintings are just grim reminders of the past, a past whose inhabitants are but dust in the wind."

"Is that why everyone still fears humans?! Especially that one?!" Pangoro points to a massive human painting wielding a powerful weapon: Something they called a 'gun,' from with what I could piece together, was some kind of extremely powerful projectile weapon, said to be powerful enough to instantly steal the life away from whatever it was pointed at, given they didn't have thick armour; much like I did. Sadly, a gun of any caliber is something I haven't been able to add to my vast arsenal of past weaponry yet. I felt my lower back for the small blade I had concealed within a small sheath, just for emergencies.

Before the gardevoir could continue, I butt in: "those who fear the past, are weak, and deserve to be forgotten. Just like the past should be." I closed my eyes, drowning out all I've ever seen and done up until right this very second. "The present is all that matters. It's all that will ever matter."

The other three looked at me blankly, probably trying to contemplate my words.

"Bisharp…just stop," Aegislash sighed, about to move out again "We've no time to waste here. We must continue."

"Wait a minute!" Gardevoir exclaimed dramatically "I found something!" He knelt down to the water, plunging his slender green arms into the cold depths, retrieving a fine blue hair. "Looky looky! A clue! We're on the right track! How wonderful!"

Aegislash took interest as he got a closer look at the fur. "Definitely a riolu's. Good eye Gardevoir."

"I try," Gardevoir's face contorted into a smug grin, as he twirled the fur around his finger. "Oh? What's that?" Surprise filled his gaze, as he pointed at the floor near the bank. I took a closer look, seeing a patch of chocolate coloured fur.

"More fur," I picked it up, looking at it. "Someone's clearly still moulting. Looks like a zigzagoon's, a raticade's, perhaps."

"Irrelevant. That ain't useful for our search," the panda growled, growing more impatient "now are we going to get moving? Or are we going to mull over some fur?!"

"No, possible ally. This mustn't go unnoticed. Bring it with you Bisharp. Gardevoir can analyse it as we move." Aegislash suggested as he moved up a flight of stairs, the other two following.

I stood frozen for a little bit, calculating how the interloper could have already made an alley. I shook my head, simply concluding that it was just chance, and it was entirely unrelated, as I jogged after the other three.

We walked through a large, luscious jungle of sorts, a thick silence hanging over the moist air, following a set of footprints in the dirt road that Gardevoir has since confirmed to be a riolu's, his hindsight ability coming in handy. I was personally more interested in my surroundings, rather than the mission itself. I was almost enjoying myself, when a certain gruff panda had to break the silence.

"Does this Felicity Creek have any...places to have fun…?" He asked, his hands resting on the back of his head.

I scoffed at him "it's bound to have bars or recreational areas. It's the capital of—" I froze myself when I actually got his meaning, disgust overpowering me.

"I dunno Pan, I do hear they have a pub with several lopunny 'servants'," Gardevoir laughed suggestively "perhaps they could tickle your fancy. So to speak."

"They degrade themselves, and others too." My eye twitched, as I scowled at them. Gardevoir and Pangoro just stared down at me with unamused expressions, before continuing on to speil, disregarding me entirely, to which irritated me immensely.

"Don't forget the mission," Aegislash barked from up front "and don't waste time! Or I'll cut you down myself! Now shut up, and get ready to sit down, because this is going to be quite the long boat trip ahead of us!" He pointed out a pier in the distance, with a large line.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" I added, taking the opportunity to remove this disgusting cloth from my body without hesitation. "Unless we want to be obvious targets, I implore you all to remove these ridiculous things." I let my cape fall to the ground.

The other three scowl at me simultaneously as they began unclipping their symbols of power.

"To disregard thy cape in such manner...is an insult to Lord Starmie," Aegislash scolded me, handing his cape to Gardevoir, as did Pangoro "you are proving yourself to be quite the pathetic knight. Keep it up, and we will kill you."

"Hmph." I kicked my cape onto Gardevoir's head, as he mumbled obscenities under his breath, as the abundance of purple cloth disappeared in a flash of light, revealing Gardevoir's less than amused face. "Like Aegislash said. We have no time to waste. Let's go." I shrugged, walking past them, heading towards the boat on my own, admittedly feeling a tad vulnerable without the cape. But as long as I still had my blades to do the talking, I was more than happy to ditch that hideous hindrance.

"Where do you even put those things anyways…?" I heard Pangoro ask from behind, likely to the dress wearing idiot.

"Simple; it's none of your business. Would you ask Lord Starmie about where he keeps his belongings?"

"Well, you ain't Starmie, maybe I'll tell the lord you're comparin' yerself to 'im, just for laughs."

"Yes, that would be rather humorous...he'd probably disintegrate you on the spot too for bothering him."

The two bantered annoyingly for what felt like hours as we waited in line for the boat, without so much as a peep out of Aegislash or I. This journey was going to be long and tedious, and it'd be only worse to humour those two idiots for any longer than I already have. With some hope, the interloper shouldn't of traveled very far…

* * *

 

_**End of chapter 3** _

(AN) s-six thousand words?! I must have been on a roll! That's the single longest chapter I've ever written, and I'm very proud of it. But what matters more is what yall thought of it.

This has been TheLastRanger signing off.

Peace.


	4. A Wolfe Never Yields

(AN) Before we begin, I'd like to thank my buddy TheGOAT for being my second beta for this chapter, as well as teaching me a few things I didn't know about writing. I implore you to check him out if you have the chance!

Many thanks, Goatbro! You da bes!

But enough of that, we have a story to continue.

Let's begin!

* * *

 

_**Chapter 4: A Wolfe Never Yields** _

**Hazel**

The Sapphire Library loomed over the city like a mighty pillar ascending far into the sky, shadowing an entire city block. The building had to be at least five stories tall. All of what I'd heard about this place was true, and it was spectacular. Though I did note something in particular...a dense congregation of green trees that dotted the base of the tower…? How on Earth did they manage to fit a forest in the middle of a city…?

Then something else struck me.

The forest was moving.

"Matt…?" He silently turned to me as I spoke, his brow slightly raised. "Do you see that…?"

"See what?" He peered around with his hand on his forehead, probably to keep the sun out of his eyes. "I'm not seeing anything."

"Look, over at the base of the ivory tower. Is that forest moving…? Or are my eyes just playing up again?"

"I think it might be moving actually…" he squinted. "That's...not right…"

I smiled playfully at him, starting to slowly walk towards the somewhat distant library. "Let's investigate! Not everyday you see an anomaly like this. I'mma need to take notes." I ran ahead of him, much to his dismay, as he had to quickly chase after me. I had to say, he had good legs for a two-legger, as he could easily catch up to me.

"You could at least give me a warning before running!" He jogged by my side. "Actually why are we still running? The library isn't going anywhere anytime soon!"

"But that forest is going somewhere! You can slow down if you want, but I need the workout!"

He huffed, peering at all the eyes on us as we ran through the park together towards the library. I frowned as I got the impression that he wasn't a fan of attention. I started to slow down into a light jog, considering Matt's dislike of crowds.

We eventually arrived at the base of the tower, where the moving forest was located. I noted the sheer amount of pokemon likely here for the same reasons as us. The mass of trees seemed to just be moving not to go anywhere, but instead, like a crowd of people would.

Yet another realisation dawned upon me. This wasn't a phenomenon or anomaly. Instead, it was a migrating herd of Torterra! Sheer awe took over as I just found myself staring at the gargantuan creatures, who socialised with smaller onlookers, many of whom rested on the backs of the great beasts. Some simply lounged about in the shade of their trees, others ate nuts growing on their backs.

I couldn't help but quietly squeal when I saw many of the herd's turtwig children weaving in and out of their legs excitedly, playing with the other kids of the city. It was plain adorableness in pokemon form.

Matt had an expression of sheer awe on his face, his eyes repeatedly flicking to the giant creature's congregation. His jaw was practically touching the floor.

"Amazing, aren't they?" I asked him, my smile widening at the breathtaking display "Lucky we just happened to catch them as we arrived. Very lucky indeed."

"...Wow...they're…" he gasped, at a complete loss for words "...So big…"

"I need to speak with one of them. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe." I began searching for a suitable torterra to interview, before something bumped into me. It was a little turtwig! He likely just learned to walk, as he struggled to keep balanced. I couldn't help but lower myself to the little fella's eye level. "'Ello there! Aren't you just a little cutie? Where's your mummy and daddy?"

He just tilted his head adorably at me, clearly not getting the point. He stared at me blankly for a little bit, (not unlike Matt would, thinking about it) before almost walking past me, interrupted only by a large vine emerging from the crowd and wrapping itself around the baby's hind leg and dragging him away. I would have been shocked, but the kid wasn't showing any signs of discomfort or pain, so he must be used to this.

I decided to follow where the vine was headed, just to see if the little guy was fine. I swerved under and around the sentient forest with Matt closely in tow. Eventually reaching the centre of the gathering, we saw the baby, who was being held by a torterra who was notably larger than the rest of its kind.

"Now now little one. How will you ever find the way if you keep running off like that?" He calmly said to the child in an aged, gentle voice. Carefully lifting him up and placing him up onto a rock on his back, his eyes slowly turn towards Matt and I. "Oh, hello children," he warmly greeted us, turning towards us, shaking the ground below slightly with each step. "Aren't you two just the cutest little things? I see you followed my vines."

"Mhmm! I was actually looking for one of you to talk to;" I nodded respectfully at the larger being. "if that's alright with you."

"Hmmm…" he audibly contemplated, rubbing his beak with a vine. "I suppose that's alright. The Matriarch said we'd be staying overnight...anyway, you may call me Firmis. Like everyone does."

"Good to meet you! My name is Hazel and that's Matt!"

"H-hello…" Matt mumbled in sheer awe at what he saw.

"Don't be shy child...I only bite when agitated." He let out a hearty laugh, displaying his extremely powerful beak whilst offering a vine each for Matt and I, which we politely took. "Ask away!"

"Very well Firmis, first of all, what Great Herd is this? I've heard of many famous herds."

"This is the Riverbend Herd, my child. We've been traversing this waterway for the good part of...what? Fifteen-hundred years. Give or take. Long enough to have coexisted with the humans. I don't keep track of time," He answered, as I jotted down his answers. "Heck, I think the matriarch had a human master once." He peered over to the largest member of the herd, who stood taller and mightier than the rest of the herd.

"Wow...a human master…? Did she ever fight in the Great War?" I asked, desperate for an answer. Firmis let out an extensive 'hmm' while rubbing his chin with a vine.

"I'm quite uncertain actually. She's wise, but never speaks about those times. I was probably only a little turtwig then...speaking of, excuse me for a moment," The vine he was using to scratch his chin suddenly went between Matt's legs, and grabbed something behind the riolu; who just stood there with an expression of pure horror and embarrassment. The vine started pulling again, and in its grasp; surprise surprise, was the baby turtwig. "Come on you little scamp. At least wait until I'm finished speaking before you run away."

"He's gonna grow up to be an adventurer one day," I laughed, watching Firmis struggle to keep his child in check. "I'm sure of it."

"He'll be something alright…" Firmis sighed heavily, shaking his head. "And don't try biting my vines off either scamp!" He winced in slight pain. "Little fella's got a beak to him. Still, back to your questions 'lil lady...ow..."

I was internally flattered at his words. Likely he was referring to my western accent, though my sharp and curious mind wanted more information, so I needed to quench that thirst that always nagged at me.

"Tell me about your life Firmis, you grew up in the shadow of the Great War, you must have a great deal to tell; if that's alright with you." I asked with a great amount of eagerness and excitement as I twirled my pencil around in my paw. "I'm desperate to know."

"Are you publishing this or something…?" Matt asked after the awkward silence he's been practicing for the last few minutes.

"Correct," I replied, barely looking at the blue canine. "I've been compiling information for five years now, I'm not exactly going to avoid sharing it y'know."

"'Lil Lady's an author I see," Firmis laughed a hearty laugh, before wincing as had bit him again. "But unfortunately, I don't have much to actually tell you about myself. I'm only seven hundred years young!" I couldn't even tell if that was a joke or not, but the elder continued to chuckle. "But the Matriarch probably knows a bit more than I would. She knows everything."

"Might I ask why you keep calling her 'the Matriarch'? I'm just curious," I asked, continuing to twirl the pencil around in my paw.

"Well, she's the oldest mother here. She's actually my grandmother," he simply replied, looking westward to the largest of the torterra, who was situated at the front of the herd. "Without her I wouldn't have my mate...and by extension, this little bundle of…" Firmis' casual face turned to that of unamusement, as again, he shot a vine off away from him and dragging the baby back by the leg. Again. "...joy..."

I could hardly contain my giggles at this adorable situation happening before me. Even Matt was letting out the occasional quiet chuckle, which was a first.

"Next time you run off, I'm gonna let you go wherever you want. Less weeds on my back," Firmis sarcastically but playfully told his child off; who lightly growled at him. "Don't give me that lip boy! I'm complimenting you! You can practically start your own herd!"

My laughter could no longer contain itself as I burst into sheer hysterics, which I was aware bothered Matt. But this was golden. Reminded me of daddy...oh...my laughter immediately died down when I started to reminisce about why I'm constantly on the road...damn it Hazel...I quickly pushed my thoughts aside into the depths of my psyche, to the best of my ability. I coughed to gain the torterra's attention, as well as to distract myself from my recurring memories. Firmis' large eyes shifted off of his baby and peered down to me.

"Do...do you think it would be at all possible to speak to the Matriarch…?" I asked him politely, tilting my head at him, my tail wagging slightly. "I mean, it's alright if she's too busy to speak with us…"

"Unfortunately that's the case 'lil lady. Running a herd is quite...draining." He shot an occasional glance to the front of the forest-like congregation, his face turned to that of a distant expression. "Especially when you've been leading the way for the good part of a thousand years."

I pouted in disappointment, my tail lowering slightly. I simply adjusted my glasses and overviewed my book. I bit my lip as my mind drew blank, as I had no idea what else to ask. I cursed my inability to come up with a multitude of questions on the spot. I just made awkward eye contact with the torterra. I nervously coughed as I closed my book and smiled.

"Alright Firmis, I think that might all the questions I have for right now, but I might have more after Matt and I investigate that library over there. Thank you very much for answering my questions."

"It's been my pleasure 'lil lady." He happily nodded with a big smile, which quickly faded as he winced upon being bitten again. "Do you mind?! I-! Look, I gotta get this one under control! But if you want to chat again, I'll be here all day."

Firmis turned around to speak to what I'm assuming was his mate, complaining about why it was always him that got bitten, to which she simply laughed and shook her massive head. I couldn't help but chuckle at the family, before moving to look at Matt, who just stood there frozen with a somewhat bewildered look on his face. I tilted my head at Matt, who stared blankly into space.

"What's the matter? Delcatty got your tongue?"

"What?" He tilted his head, his aura appendages and ears drooping to one side, very cutely, I might add. "Oh, it's just...just...I've never seen pokemon quite this...big before…" He scratched the ground with feet, nervously eyeing the large herd around us. "It's breathtaking…"

"I know right! It's bloody lucky we just happened upon a migrating herd of torterra literally the day we arrived! Blimey we're a lucky bunch!" I laughed, removing my glasses and putting them away. "alrighty, let's not doddle any longer. We need to check out the library now! Lets go, Matty boy!"

I skipped towards the large tower with Matt in tow.

"Stop running ahead! And don't call me Matty!"

* * *

 

**Matt**

Roughly five minutes had passed since we had spoken with Firmis, as we now arrived at the base of the great tower, which was connected to the park platform via a large marble bridge. The bridge was decorated with several large torches across both sides, leading to a set of ginormous wooden doors. I started to feel queasy as I glanced upwards to the spiral building that seemed to ascend to the very heavens. I wasn't too sure if it was real or inside my head, but the sounds of the city seemed to have been drowned out entirely by some unknown force, leaving only the sound of blowing wind and flowing water in its wake. I felt a cold sweat form on my brow and my ears and tail droop as an extremely powerful feeling of deja vu filled my body.

"H-Hazel…? A-are you sure about this…?" I practically whimpered, my feet refusing to move onto the bridge. "I'm getting some bad vibes here…"

"Bad vibes…? Oh! Is it because it's an old human building? Don't worry, I doubt there are even humans in there." She gave a reassuring smile, which alleviated some of the stress. "I promise you...maybe...look, if there was a human hiding out in there...we'd be in trouble…" Her cheery face dropped, as she gave a worried glance to the building (which just put me further on edge) before letting out an amused chuckle. "Nah mate, I'm just 'avin a giggle!"

I continued to stare at the tower as if it was going to lunge at me, my arm instinctively reaching for my armpit for whatever reason. I refused to blink or compromise at the building. I even growled at the tower, which caught me off guard completely...this new body was something else entirely...This moment of defensiveness was broken by a warm pressure appearing on my foot and squeezing it. My arm immediately dropped as I looked down at a certain eevee, who had her paw gently on my foot, her eyes full of worry.

"A-are you ok? Y-you're scaring me…" Her ears drooped, her tail between her legs. "Matt…? We don't have to go in if you don't want to..."

I nodded slightly, kneeling down to her and giving her shoulder a supportive hand.

"I-I'm fine...believe me," I gave her a half smile. "It's just...just...don't worry about it…"

Her hand slithered off my foot as she looked away from me with a stubborn expression on her kind face.

"Hmph. That means I just gave you a foot massage for nothing…" She huffed, not bothering to make eye contact with me, before speaking up again, the same concern from before subtly lining her voice. "Are you sure you want to go in…?"

"Yes…"

We nodded to each other as we composed ourselves and made our way to across the bridge, to the large doors.

With a quite a bit of trouble, we finally managed to open the two massive wooden doors of the Sapphire Library, which lead into a massive grey foyer, dimly illuminated by an ominous blue light. The ambient sound of wind gently blowing throughout the building was all that could be heard. We slowly stepped inside, with Hazel taking the lead, whilst I nervously watched her as she walked into the entryway, sceptical about the unwelcoming interior of this building, of course Hazel paid little to no attention to me as she practically jogged to the centre of room, staring up at a statue of some sort. I was about to follow, but I heard a voice call out from behind.

"Hold the door please!" I turned around, still using my body to hold the door open. The bayleef from before was lightly jogging towards the entrance, with her chikorita in tow, though the poor girl could hardly keep up. "Thank you…" she huffed, entering the doorway, waiting for her counterpart to enter as well. "Honestly, these doors are a nightmare to open with vines."

"Aww c'mon sis...can't we just skip this class today…? Doesn't the shop need us…?" Her little sister whined, peering out to the outside from the door, probably only wanting some sunlight.

"Mr. Ferrothorn said he will run the berry stand today," She gave a small smile, before it faded slightly, as she averted her gaze from her sister "It's not like we get much business anyway…" she mumbled after her sister walked ahead of her, towards where Hazel was. I felt a wave of pity come over me as I closed the door, while watching the bayleef sigh. I made a mental note to visit her stand at some point after we're done here.

The heavy doors shut with a loud, echoing thud, even despite my best efforts to close it as slowly and as quietly as physically possible. The sounds of the outside world were drowned out, as it felt like we entered a completely different world entirely. Even the humidity of outside had disappeared, replaced by a certain coolness that was almost exclusive to stone buildings.

I joined the other three at the base of the large statue, noticing five doors in a semicircle formation on the front wall of the circular room, all colour coded, with different banners on either side of a door, all representing different subject matters.

I shifted my attention up at the statue, which depicted two creatures locked in combat. One a great quadruped made of marble, with a great golden ring around its waist, while the other was an armoured bipedal creature of gold, it's face obscured by a hood. In its gauntleted grasp, was a large sword, which it tried to swing at the larger creature. I could tell that this was no pokemon, its build matched that of a human of some kind. Looking down at a sign at the base of the monument, I read aloud:

"Clash of Divinity: Arceus and Algaloe…"

These names...they were familiar to me. I had read them in Hazel's book.

I shifted my attention to Hazel, who looked up at the statue with glistening eyes, her muzzle agape. Even I had to admit, this statue was beyond beautiful, plus it peaked my curiosity of this location. I had believed this place would've been nothing more than the average library. I was wrong. Even the two sisters had stopped to marvel in its glory, even past my impression that they came here regularly.

"It's beautiful isn't it, Matt?" Hazel's eyes flicked to me, still shining with childlike wonder. "Those are the two leaders of the pokemon and human pantheons, if you didn't know...well, I mean you're bound to know Arceus, every pokemon knows him...but the name Algaloe has been almost entirely forgotten over time." She lectured me, smiling widely. "I've actually written a section about this particular subject in my book, If you wanted to read about it at all."

"Maybe we could read about it together if we get a moment to sit down," I suggested while rubbing my chin and staring up at the huge statue that was probably ancient. The longer I stayed in this world, the more amazed and bewildered I got. I felt like I was going to have sensory overload, as I still felt rather uneasy about everything here, Hazel being the only thing keeping me in check.

"Ooh, that sounds good!" Hazel happily chirped, her tail wagging excitedly. "Hopefully we get actually moment to sit down. Because we're gonna be here for a while."

"How long is a 'while' exactly…?"

"About ten to twelve hours." She stared in a very 'matter of fact' sort of way, which worried me, while she gave me a calm smile. "Give or take. Depends on how quickly it takes for me to tire out."

"H-how many books are you planning on reading exactly…?" A cool sweat began to run down my brow, as I tried to look for even one hint that she was bluffing, yet her face was completely serious. Out of everyone in the world to know about my kind, I just _had_ to get roped in with this one. I wasn't sure if I could even tell the truth to this girl anytime soon; she was probably going to be muzzle deep in literature. Why did I have to pick the library to confess to her in…?! That sounded weirder than it should have been...Gah...This wasn't helping any!

"Hmm…" She squinted at the statue, rubbing the bottom of her muzzle thoughtfully. "It depends, are you taking into consideration if I'm not going to finish any of the books? Because if so…I'd probably say roughly...one hundred and fifty books...minimum." She nodded with confidence as my jaw proceed to unhinge. Her collected smile began to widen into an expression I was sadly all too familiar with, a look that she makes before exploding in that trademark guffaw of hers.

I quickly looked at chikorita and bayleef who gazed at us strangely, before I quickly brought a single finger up to my lips and quietly shushed the eevee.

"This is a library!" I hissed at her from behind my finger. "Do you wanna be kicked out?!"

Hazel immediately shut her mouth tightly and nodded in embarrassment and scanned her surroundings.

"S-sorry…" She smiled bashfully, chuckling slightly. "A-anyway, what's the plan…? What are you going to do? Because I'm heading to the Archive Wing; the one that's over there" She pointed westward, at a doorway marked by two purple banners, with an eye in the center.

My eyes shifted to the next door over, marked by orange banners, with the Virtue symbol decorating it, which immediately caught all of my attention, drawing me to that wing specifically.

"Ooh! The Museum of Warlords wing! That sounds fun! I'll join you there in a few hours! Will you be ok on your own?"

"I'll be fine Hazel," I assure her with a fake smile and nod. "I guess I'll see you in a while then."

"Righty-o. Don't have too much fun without me!" She giggled and winked at me, before disappearing into the Archive Wing, never to be seen again by mortal eyes, I presumed.

* * *

 

I was now completely alone as I slowly made my way into the Museum Wing, the eerie wind sending chills down my spine. I somewhat regretted splitting up with that eevee, because of her chipper attitude that was enough to brighten anything's day. Walking through the entryway, I appeared to be in a large dome room, with many human artifacts decorating the area, from weapons, to armour, to even vehicles. I could feel some strange mixture of awe, fear and deja vu all mixing within my subconscious.

I was stunned as I made my way through display after display of human relics of all sorts, from weaponry, technology, to even agricultural machinery. This place...I...I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I felt at home almost, among the weapons and metal. But...rage and sadness were also present within my psyche. I wanted to go home, a home I knew absolutely nothing about, but I..I just wanted to be me again...this body wasn't my own, I wasn't meant to be this creature. I looked down at my thumbless paws, tears beginning to sting the corners of my eyes along with the feeling that my nose was beginning to seal shut. I couldn't take it any longer, as I started to sob quietly, leaning up against the side of a huge metal box shaped vehicle. What did I ever do to deserve this horrible fate?! God, answer me please!

Nothing...of course…

I collapsed into the fetal position, as depression began to overcome me out of nowhere. I began to gently rock myself back and forth. I must have looked utterly pathetic, but I didn't care.

"James...Jeb...where are you…?" I sobbed, yearning for something...anything, to provide me with any comfort.

I felt all hope draining from my body as I sunk lower and lower into the ball I was curled into. I just cried for my dad. I was quite glad that I split up with Hazel, as she'd probably worry like mad. I barely managed to look upwards, towards a large banner which I had assumed was propaganda.

It displayed a beast-like man wearing a tattered army uniform of some kind, his hands in a crossed formation, his fingers twisted into claws, and he gave the most monstrous smile I had ever seen, along with a mighty beard around his terrifying expression. He also wore an eyepatch. Surrounding him was fire that engulfed a map of what I'm assuming is this land. Above him, in bright red text, the propaganda spelled something out.

"The Wolf stalks, and the Wolf mauls! Don't let him consume you! Inform your local Virtue Corporation enforcer if you see any resistance activity immediately! "

Something about that man...he was extremely familiar to me...a feeling of dizziness and disorientation began overwhelming me once again. I was quick to my feet with panic, though my legs immediately buckled: I was going to have a flashback I think...Why now-?!

With great speed, and without self control, I placed one wrist on top of the other, crossing my arms and sprawling my hands into claws, mimicking this banner. Licking my lips and inhaling, I roared a phrase I had never heard before, with an unexpected amount of ferocity and vigor:

**"A Wolfe Never Yields!"**

The sentence echoed throughout the room, my voice filled with might and willpower, along with a gravelly undertone...what was that?! Why did I say that?! I hoped no one heard...before I could ponder with what I just had said, my vision began to turn blue once more. In my last few brief moments of fading consciousness, I scoped out a couch! Whether or not it was a display piece or simply something for visitors to relax on, was a genuine question I had, but there was obviously no time to ponder at the moment. I jumped upon the furniture, hoping it would trick anyone who would come across me into thinking I tired myself out and took a quick snooze. But my thoughts began to drift, as this vision began to take a more tangible state…

* * *

 

 _"And that is what we say in the face of danger, kids,"_ A familiar voice explained as my opaque blue vision came to me. But the voice belonged to James! _"We never yield. No matter what. Even if the situation is at the most dire point. We die on our own damn terms. Understood?"_

 _"Sir yes Sir!"_ Two voices called back to James- two boys I assumed were Jeb and I.

 _"Good stuff! Now, I think you are ready..."_ Dad continued, as something new in the vision started to appear; a small opening in the blue plane, almost like a window to the past. What I saw was limited, but I could specifically make out a large rocky mountain range in the distance. _"...Of course your mother says otherwise...but...she isn't here right now...so, I believe it is time for you to be trained in firearm handling…"_

From my limited vision, I saw my father James. His build was...monstrous. Even at a distance, I barely stood up to his chest. His face was pale, but rugged, with a black beard and short, well kept hair of matching colour. Pity I couldn't see his eyes through his sunglasses though. In his arms, he held two hunting rifles of some kind, both by the foregrips and aiming them skyward.

_"Now. Jeb. I know you're responsible enough to wield this. Take it."_

My brother nodded and carefully took the gun from James' grasp, thoroughly checking that the chamber was unloaded. Once he deemed that it was safe, Jeb relaxed and held it properly, his trigger finger resting on the grip, along with the rest of his hand. He occasionally glanced towards me with familiar brown eyes, revealing that he was the spitting image of James, even going so far as to start growing a beard, though it was barely stubble at this point.

 _"Now. Matthew,_ " James began, lowering his sunglasses to make eye contact with me, his irises the same hue of brown as mine. His once calm changed into a glare of sorts. _"This is not a toy. It never will be. Ever. This is a real-life firearm. Not like the special effects crap that comes out of PokeStar Studios. Am I clear? Again, just to rub it in; if you're not careful with this, you can, and will kill somebody. If you're not sure, just tell me, and we don't have to continue, it's all up to you_." His harsh glare softened, as he placed his free hand on my shoulder, squeezing it tightly, while making sure that his other hand is pointing the gun away from me.

My past self gulped, staring at my dad, then to my brother, who had a somewhat worried expression on his face. _"Dad, he's clearly uncomfortable with this at the moment. Maybe we should have brought Lucy along with us, she might help reassure him about—"_

 _"N-no...I...understand what dad is saying."_ I quietly muttered with a nervous voice, staring at the ground. _"I..,think I'm ready."_

 _"That's my boy."_ James smiled warmly at me as he stood up at full height, which dwarfed me completely. _"Now. I'd give you my gun...but it might take your arm off. So instead...Lady! C'mere girl!"_

Emerging from behind my beast of a father, was a (what I was assuming was female, judging by the size of her hips and small body shape) lucario, carrying a smaller rifle case in her paws delicately. She stopped by James' side, her tail wagged excitingly. This lucario...was she the reason I was a riolu? Or was that just purely coincidental? She took a few steps towards me and offered the case, her expression that of pure warmth and love.

With slight hesitation, I took the gun case in one hand and stroked the underside of her muzzle with the other; to which she cooed in delight at, angling her head into my hand. I felt genuine warmth from this flashback as everyone appeared to be happy in this scene. I wanted to stay in this vision for as long as possible. Heck, maybe even forever…

After opening the case and removing its contents, I now held my weapon; a much smaller hunting rifle, more akin to what an adolescent child would wield. My younger self examined the weapon closely, mimicking the way Jeb and James held their rifles. I made sure to keep my finger away from the trigger, and that my grasp was firm as to not drop it. I must've known it was unloaded, but I still wasn't taking any chances by the looks of things. I looked from my weapon, then back to Dad, who nodded at me with a smile.

_"You're doing good son. Now, let's start off with the basics: I can see that you're practicing good trigger discipline. Now. What do you do first? What did your brother do as soon as he held his weapon?"_

I made subtle glances towards Jeb, and my rifle, probably trying to remember what he did. I suddenly clicked in realisation and rotated the bolt upwards, then pulled it back, opening the chamber. I carefully examined where the bullet would go, eventually determining that the firearm was unloaded. I glanced back at my dad who smiled and nodded at me. Once we knew it was safe, I eased up slightly.

 _"Next. I want you to aim at that target. The gun isn't loaded, obviously, so go ahead and take aim."_ James instructed, moving out the way of a practice dummy. Jeb and Lady also moved out of the way. Once they were out of view, I raised my gun, before a shout stopped me from aiming any further. _"Stop! You've broken one of the main rules of gunplay. Always, check your surroundings, no matter what. Check every angle, forwards, backwards, left and right. Up and down too. Who knows what might be hiding out of sight?"_

 _"O-Oh...sorry…"_ I lowered the gun, before examining the environment around me. We appeared to be in a very rocky, yet grassy area, likely at the base of a mountain, where a river flowed not too far away from us. A mountain range loomed off into the horizon, with a large forest in between it and us. To my right, built in the shadow of a small alcove of trees, was a traditional log cabin, with a car parked outside. It was utterly breathtaking, and I took a mental note of this area; just in case this was my home, and Dad was still there. Sadly my examination of the environment was cut short when I looked back at the target and took aim, carefully looking down the sights. The sound of a metallic click was all that was heard as I pulled the trigger, as the gun was not loaded.

 _"Ha! Little pup's a fast learner it seems!"_ Jeb guffawed heartily, his mighty laugh echoing throughout the silent environment. _"A real marksman in the making!"_

 _"He's faster than you were, thats for sure."_ James let out a low chuckle and shook his head. Jeb just blushed and avoided mine and James' gaze.

_"I-I was sick that day…"_

_"It took you a week to learn proper trigger discipline. Were you sick for that entire week? And if so you were very active for a sick kid…"_ Dad stroked his beard in a faux-wise way.

_"Sh-shut up dad…"_

James let out a laugh that was practically the same as Jeb's, but much louder and filled with sheer might, though, it died down as his serious demeanour returned.

_"Now...onto loading your weapon…"_

This vision brought warmth onto my heart as I could see my family, as well as a feeling of pure determination to find them. I couldn't just give up and cry, not yet anyway. I was a Wolfe. And a Wolfe never yields! I was going to stop at nothing to find them, even if it took years! I'd tolerate this awful body! But for now, I just let the vision play it's coarse and maybe teach me a thing or two...who knew? This info might help me out in the future...

* * *

 

_Elsewhere…_

**Sir Bisharp**

Sleep was something that eluded me, as I lay wide awake on the uncomfortable wooden bench of this damn boat, shivering because we didn't bring a blanket with us. I felt like stabbing something, but I needed to hold off on that until our destined meeting with the Interloper. For the meantime, I fiddled around with the feather in my mouth, pushing it from side to side with my tongue. It was a...less-than-thrilling passtime. With a groan, I kicked myself upright, crossing my legs to sit. I peered around to see what everyone else was up to on this moonlit night. Pangoro just slept, snoring as loudly as possible, which just furthered my urge to stab something. Aegislash just sat on a corner of the boat, his eye pressed shut. I wasn't too sure if he was sleeping, or just meditating. Either way, as long as he wasn't hounding on me like he always did, I was fine.

But I couldn't see the fourth knight with the other two. He often had a nasty habit of disappearing, a habit which makes me uneasy; for I didn't like that man probing around where he doesn't belong. I hastily scanned the boat, looking at all the sleeping passengers, before my eyes landed upon Gardevoir sitting on the bow of the boat, dangling his legs off the edge and singing gently. I let out a sigh of relief when I spotted him, glad that he wasn't ready to cut my throat or try and inquire every secret of mine. Sadly, he stopped his song when he realized I was watching, twisting his body around to face me and waving his arm as if he were summoning me. I dropped my shoulders and approached him slowly, as I knew that ignoring him would be worse than speaking to him. I crossed my arms and took a seat next to Gardevoir on the edge of the boat.

"Evening shorty! Wonderful bright night tonight? Isn't it?" He smiled and pointed upwards to the night sky above, at all of the stars that beautifully illuminated the darkness.

"Quite. Why are you still awake?"

"Oh, me? I'm flattered you're so concerned for me wellbeing! I'm just giddy with anticipation! That little riolu won't know what hit him! Aha...still, isn't it wonderful to be back in the normal world again?" His red eyes sparkled with a disgusting amount of enthusiasm and optimism.

"Hmph. I suppose anywhere else is better than the Obelisk…" I looked down at my reflection and sighed, how I always took my time here for granted. "And I wasn't concerned for you. I don't want you getting in my way."

"Aww...just when I thought you were warming up to me…" Gardevoir pouted and dropped his head in sadness, though he couldn't keep this guise as he began to laugh under his breath. "Ahaha...still, hopefully there is somewhere in town where I can sing for an audience. I've yearned for a spotlight again...also the feeling of an adoring fan wrapped around my—"

"Is that all you think about?!" I interrupted him, shooting the nastiest glare I could possibly give to Gardevoir; who seemed shocked at first, before smiling cruelly at me.

"Dear Bisharp, really you need to stop being such a prude. I live a simple life of three principles: Sing, Screw, and Slaughter! You should try it out sometime, maybe then you'll be as happy as me."

"You sicken me." I scoffed, averting my gaze away from the wanton knight, instead choosing to focus on the jungle that surrounded the river. "Anyway. That fur we acquired earlier, have you analysed it yet? To whom does it belong to?"

"Ah! Well, in my my expert opinion, I have concluded that it belongs to...an adorable little eevee. Though I cannot determine the age or gender. Though that's not of any concern, what damage can a tiny riolu and eevee possibly do to us?"

I stood up at full height and yawned, with exhaustion finally kicking in, that's what happens when you interact with him for more than three sentences I presumed.

"Hmph, I—"

"What's with it you and saying 'Hmph' all the time?! It's really quite immature and childish and I suggest you stop it. It's really getting under my skin." Gardevoir interrupted, an irritated scowl in his normally cheerful face.

"Quiet you. Like I was about to say; the second you underestimate your opponent, is the second you lose the fight. I suggest that you open your ears and take my advice to heart. It might just save your life." I turned on my heels and walked away, back to my seat.

"What do you know?! Our squad has conquered all that stood in our way, even before you joined! To suggest we might possibly lose to a mutt is preposterous! And not to mention treason!"

Rolling my eyes, I decided to ignore Gardevoir for the time being, as I'm sure a brick wall could hold a more engaging conversation than him, as well as the fact that he was an attention whore. I lay my head down and tightly shut my eyes, trying my best not to react to the whining knight, hoping to Arceus above that he'd shut the hell up or I'd fall asleep soon, whatever came first…

* * *

 

_**End of Chapter** _


	5. Museum Maddness-Part 1

_**Chapter 5: Museum Madness-part 1** _

* * *

**Sir Bisharp**

Hmph...at long last. Felicity Creek. The sight of the Eastern Reach's capital city in the distance lightened my mood somewhat, as I could finally move around again. My legs ached from sitting down for too long, and my head lightly thumped with pain; this was probably because that bastard in green kept me up all night with his incessant complaining. That was more than likely an attempt to wear me out as much as possible. And the worst part was...it worked. I silently yawned and took in the late morning sun, along with the pleasant nature smell of the water and wildlife.

It was a shame though. We probably wouldn't get to spend very long outside of the Obelisk. Once this mission was complete, it would be back to that gloomy hellhole for god knows how long. A week? A month? A year?! Ugh...the mere thought of Starmie's base of operations made me nauseous. Still...for what reason would he send all four of us in to eliminate this target…? I have never properly understood the master's reasonings...He could have at least sent me alone to assassinate this 'Interloper.' That way my fellow knights wouldn't interfere like they always did. I wanted to be as prepared as possible for this inevitable fight that was on the horizon.

"Good morning knights…" Aegislash yawned from behind. He sounded very rested for once. "The time has come at last. I take it everyone is well rested and prepared?"

"Absolutely exquisitely! The bench was _very_ comfortable. In fact, I can't feel my spine anymore—" Gardevoir sarcastically chortled.

"Arceus above, do you ever shut up?!" A very sleepy Pangoro complained with a growl, probably attracting strange looks from all of the other passengers of the boat, like the loud-mouthed idiot he was. "Or are you bloody incapable of being quiet?!"

"I mean, on the contrary, I was quiet for about seven hours…"'

"And now you're just giving me a heap of cheek now! I should—"

"Hmph. How about you both shut it? That would work too," I scoffed, turning my whole body around so I wouldn't be facing those buffoons anymore. "Or, do you both get uncomfortable when you're not needlessly bickering?"

"Excuse me?! Oh, I didn't know mister 'all brood and no skill' had a platform to stand on!" I wasn't even looking, but I just knew Gardevoir's glare was like that of a thousand daggers.

N-no skill?! Who did he think he was to question my skill?! N-no...Bisharp...remain calm...remain calm...I clenched my hands together and grimaced, staring off at the city that drew ever closer. I was hopeful that we would split up once we arrived at our destination because spending any more time with these cretins was never a good thing.

"Silence! All three of you! I will not tolerate you internally bickering among yourselves like mere children. As a team, we must operate efficiently and without hesitation!" Aegislash lectured us, floating to the exit of the boat when we were almost at the docks. Gardevoir, Pangoro and I made varying noises of annoyance, following our commander.

Our transport finally came to a complete halt at a rather busy dock, which was under the watchful eyes of the magnemite police force; who no doubt would only serve to slow our mission down significantly. But such was life for us. We were the first on the solid ground, which was nice after spending so long sitting down on that dreadful boat. I stretched out again, letting my arms extend to their full length with a crack, which felt rather liberating.

Sadly, any feeling of liberation was shattered by a metal ball swooping down and conquering my peripheral vision. It's single eye scanned me closely and with much suspicion.

"Name?! Age?!" It demanded in an irritating metallic tone. "Quickly!"

"I need no fancy name, and I am seventeen." I simply responded, crossing my arms. "May I pass now?"

"Negative. What is the purpose of that?!" It pointed down to the sword that was attached to the back of my belt.

"..." My eye twitched. "..Self-defence." Simple, but to the point. That was how I liked it.

"Hmm...I suppose...But don't think that we're not onto you pal! Move along!"

Hmph...that was much simpler than expected. I brushed by the officer and waited for him to process my comrades. In the meantime, I scoped out a nearby bench which I sat on with crossed legs. I enjoyed the warm sun shining down upon my body; it was a lovely change from the cold tower I called home. I reclined slightly, sighing in a mixture of content and annoyance, and closing my eyes tightly. This was probably the closest thing to relaxation I was going to get for quite some time, and damn me if I wasn't going to take it for granted.

After a few minutes of me time, I heard the very wood I sat upon creak in agony as a great weight exerted itself upon the seat.

"Can you believe these twats seriously searched my fur for potential contraband?! What a load of shite!" Pangoro complained as he took up most of the bench.

"At least they didn't try and search under your dress. How uncouth!" A flustered Gardevoir slinked towards us, holding the sides of his frilly little hinderance together. "I should have a word with their manager! Or chief! Or commissioner! Or whoever runs this perverted sham!"

"Bloody disgrace if you ask me…" Pangoro huffed."How did they let him keep his crappy little knife so easily?" I could just tell that was directed towards me, who else would be the team's go-to punching bag?

Before I could even answer or defend myself, Aegislash finally joined us.

"Alright, Knights. Here's the plan: The interloper couldn't possibly have wandered far, so he must be about. We should split up and scour the city for the target," He explained confidently, his hands firmly behind his back. "Pangoro, you scout out the west, Gardevoir, go north. I shall search the east. Leaving you Bisharp, with the south. Any questions?"

I opened one eye. "And if we cannot find the target?"

"If we can't find him within two hours; we regroup in the centre of the city, at the base of that tower," he replied, pointing up to a great ivory tower that overshadowed the entire city practically. "Then we search as a team. Gardevoir, I trust that you can use that telepathy of yours to communicate with us mentally?"

"Of course. I promise I won't dig around everyone's subconsciousness. Well, not too much at least." He smiled that disgusting smile, as per usual. Thank the maker my dark typing made me naturally resilient to his madness.

"Alright, we are prepared. I wish you luck in your search, Knights." Aegislash peered at us one more time, before leaving the bench and proceeding up a flight of stairs that lead eastward.

The immeasurable weight on my right stopped torturing the poor bench by standing up and huffing away without so much as even speaking, leaving me alone with Gardevoir. Oh dear.

"Well, shorty? I guess it's time for us to separate, what a shame…" He sighed, dropping his shoulders. "I had hoped we could continue our conversation from last night...ah well. I suppose it is T-T-F-N. au-revoir."

And without a hitch, he left! Lucky me. Well, I was alone. Good. While this bench wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world, I still found myself hesitant to even move. Ugh...but I had to...With much regret, I stood up and began my search for the interloper…

* * *

_1 hour later…_

This town was surprisingly relaxing to stroll through. I still hadn't found the Interloper, but I doubted the others had even found a clue either, so I was fine. Thus far, I've scoured most of the southern city, but there's been no sign of our target...what to do, what to do…? I decided to end my search prematurely and wait at the...library…

I was an idiot. From what I had learned, that library was extremely famous for its human exhibit! If I were a human, that would be my first place to go! Hopefully, the other three didn't come to this conclusion also, as I could silently eliminate the target with as little interference as possible.

I turned on my heels and jogged away from the tavern I was about to enter, on my way to the Sapphire Library!

* * *

The sound of heavy doors violently slamming shut echoed throughout the foyer as I was finally inside the library. The sounds of billowing wind surrounded me as cautiously made my way to the centre of the room, to the base of a statue of our god and _their_ gods clashing in combat. I couldn't help but stare intently at its beauty. Whoever built this statue to pay tribute to the _human_ god was certainly an idiot, but I had to admit, they had some good craftsmanship skills...But this statue was of no importance or relevance to the mission, so I had to move on.

I scanned the semi-circular room, skimming over the several doors that decorated the walls. I wasn't too certain where these even led, so I made a random guess. I had picked out the door to the immediate left of the entrance and began to approach it, only to have something soft and fluffy bump into my leg. The creature was a small quadruped creature, coated with thick brown and cream coloured fur. It was an eevee!

"Oof...I-Uh...apologies mister…" She said in a very mousy, accented tone while scratching her paws together. She slowly looked up at me, humility obvious on her young face. However, the second she made eye contact, her face practically lit up like a star. "Ooh! That feather! It's beautiful! Where did ya find that?" She wagged her tail excitedly, trying to stand on her hinds in what I could only imagine was an attempt to get a better look at my prized possession. Heh...I guess I could have shown this off...I always did to those who inquired.'Twas a story I always loved to tell.

I opened my mouth and removed the rainbow feather from it and kneeling down to her level, allowing the girl to have a closer look.

"This feather means a lot to me...and I've had it for many years now." I tried my hardest not to brag too much to this girl. "it serves to remind me of my skill as a warrior...you see; I snagged this from Ho-oh herself."

"Wh-WHAT?! That's...that's so cool! Wow...a real-life run in with the Immortal Phoenix herself...you must be very lucky!" The eevee girl swooned. "Are you an adventurer?"

"You could say something along those lines, yes."

"You...wouldn't be part of one if those big rescue guilds or factions would you? Y'know, like the Minutemon?" She smiled excitedly at me, her eyes twinkling, not unlike the night sky. Though, something was nagging me about this eevee...why did I have this particular species in mind… ? "umm...hello?"

"O-oh! I apologise...I was just thinking about something…" I nervously rubbed the back of my head, before returning to her question. "No, I'm afraid. I'm a freelance adventurer more than anything…"

"Hmm. Alrighty then…still, would you be interested in an interview…? You have met the immortal Phoenix herself. That would be an amazing tale to tell! Hold on a second, I'mma go fetch my friend, he'd love to hear this too!" She ran by me with considerable speed, into a doorway marked with orange banners.

I just looked on in curiosity before remembering my mission, and walking down into the entryway I was already going to…

Wait a second...An eevee…? And she had a companion...Gardevoir told me about how the interloper had a—

Target acquired.

* * *

**Matt**

" **Wake up Matt!"** Hazel's loud voice plunged me back into the real world as I jumped in fright and fell off the chair, onto the hard floor.

"Sir yes sir?!" I instinctively blurted out, looking up at Hazel, who was very upside down for whatever reason. "O-oh...hello Hazel."

"Um...out of all the weird things I've seen you do, that was the weirdest I think." She smiled playfully, suggesting she wasn't being all too serious "Anyway, up and at 'em private! So get up of the manky old floor! We still have a museum to explore!"

"Pr-private? Why am I the private?!"

"Because. I'm older than you, and I'm leading you around this place." She nodded confidently. "That's how it works, Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am sergeant..." I chuckled, picking myself off of the cold ground below. "Where now?"

"Actually...I was wanting to introduce you to this really cool guy I just met!"

She seemed really excited, which either meant one of two things; a lecture, or a LOT of running. Usually preceded by the other. No, I couldn't get sidetracked...she needed to know. Now.

"Wait. Hazel!" I stopped her before she could go anywhere. Surprisingly she didn't interject or give any backtalk, which was a first for her. She simply stared at me expectantly, giving me a nod that indicated she wanted me to continue. "Sit. I want to speak with you...This...might be a little hard to digest…"

"Oh...oh yeah...you wanted to tell me something in private before we got here...bollocks...I might have gotten a little carried away...sorry..."

Once we were seated on the same couch I had slept on, my mind drew blank on how to even go about this conversation.

"Uh...I...this might be hard to explain….no…" I stumbled on my words, while desperately trying to come up with something, anything. Screw the subtlety, I didn't want to waste any more time beating around the bush than I already have. Swallowing my fear, I continued. "H-Hazel...this may be almost impossible to believe; but please just listen! I...I am...I'm a human..."

I tightly shut my eyes and clenched my fists together in anticipation, a nervous sweat forming on my brow. Please don't overreact, please don't overreact…

"You're...what…? H-human...?" She stuttered, fear and anticipation obvious in her voice. "A-are you quite alright Matt…?"

"I told you that it would be hard to believe me...but I promise you, I'm no liar!"

I shakily opened one eye, only to see a very concerned eevee staring at me, her eyes skimming over my every feature.

"This joke isn't very funny Matthew…" The fact that she was using my actual name just stung even more. "Please tell me this is a joke…"

I assure you, Hazel, this isn't a-"

"The rodent does not jest, young eevee."

A deep, gravelly voice filled the immediate area, catching me off guard. And by the look of her fur standing on edge, Hazel looked pretty spooked too. Turning the corner from around a tank, was a bisharp, standing tall and with an eye-catching feather protruding from his mouth. His face, while expressionless, oozed an unsettling pride. "Greetings, Interloper."

"Oh! H-hello mister!" Hazel muttered with a forced smile. "M-Matt, this is who I was—"

" _Silence!"_ The bisharp roared and threw something at Hazel with one swift arm movement, which flew through the gap between her long ears and grazed the top of her head fluff, lightly cutting it, to which the eevee responded to with a gasp. Thankfully, she was unharmed. Upon closer inspection, he had thrown a throwing star at her, which lodged itself horizontally into the fabric of the sofa behind her. In almost an instant, I was on my feet and had Hazel in my arms as I jumped behind the seat for cover. The sounds of heavy hooves clopped slowly on the stone ground below, likey heading towards us. "Hmph. Hiding like the rat you are. Do you think I had intent to kill the girl? Hmph. I was only trying to cease the trite she spoke."

"Oi! Pillock! You could have just told me to shut up like any normal arsehole would!" Hazel shouted at the attacker with sheer aggression as she squirmed in my hold. "Put me down! L-lemme at him! _I'll knock his fuckin' block off!_ Nobody throws shite at me and gets away with it! Nobody!" Though her words were beyond harsh, I could still sense shock in her voice.

"Ha! The girl has spirit. I wonder...do you have the same, human?" He taunted from a distance, the distinct sound of a blade slowly unsheathing catching my attention. He was armed. Who was this guy?! What did he want with me?! There was no time for questions though...I needed to get Hazel and I as far away from this nutjob ASAP. Almost as if he had read my mind, the bisharp continued to screw with me. "Do not think escape is possible, child. I will cut you down aeons before you even get near the door. Show yourself and fight with honour! And I might just let her go if you do."

"W-well?! Are you just going to stand here and piss around? Or are you going to fight this twat?!" Hazel waved a paw in front of my face I was as scanning the room for anything to fight with.

"Not on his terms!" My eyes scoped out a display that was filled with knives of varying uses.

Placing a somewhat shaky Hazel down, I decided to make a break for the weapons case; knowing that he had no intention to hurt her. The second I popped out of cover, I could feel projectiles whoosh by me, likely the same throwing stars that bastard wielded. I could hear that he had slowly begun to close in on me from the sounds of his metallic footsteps, I needed to hurry.

Shit! The display was locked! What do I—?!

"Ha! It seems that you're not having much luck, dog." the bisharp was right behind me, towering over my smaller body, armed with a short, slightly curved sword in his right hand. I readied myself for whatever this bastard had in store for me. "Hmph. This is hardly going to be a fight, I should cut you down right where you stand...no...that would be too unfair..."

His cold eyes shifted to the display case behind me. Like a blur, the assassin lunged at me, causing me to shield myself with my arms and tightly shut my eyes. I braced myself for pain…

But there was none…?

Instead, the sound of glass shattering snapped me out of this trance. There stood the maroon murderer, his sword through the broken display, probably so I could take one. For a man who's out for blood, he did seem awfully generous…

"Well? Are you just going to stand there and gawk?!" He snapped, his scowl somehow worsening "Or are you going to fight me?!"

I gulped, knowing this brief moment of quiet could possibly be my last.

In a rush of pure adrenaline, I snatched whatever I could from the broken case and jumped away from my opponent, aiming my blade in his direction... I took a moment to glance at my weapon once I was at a somewhat safe distance from. In my paw, I held a knife that was about as long as my forearm, seemingly designed for military combat due to the heavy rubber grip and the light serrations on the blade end of it. I held the weapon as tightly as I could in both hands, enough to cause pain. I took careful steps away from the attacker, never letting him out of sight.

He placed his left arm behind his back, as he turned his body to the side, still pointing his head and sword at me.

"I take it you are ready, human?"

"Y-yes…"

I could feel a cold sweat forming on my brow, as I began to shake slightly. I was scared. This guy looked a _lot_ tougher than that geodude I fought in that mystery dungeon back there. N-no...what was it my dad said…? A Wolfe never yields? I-I had to overcome this attack!

"In that case: En Gardé!"

He quickly lunged at me with a terrifying amount of speed, swinging his arm with one gracefully fluid movement at me. All I could do was desperately block the attack by attempting to counter his strike with an attack of my own. With a clumsy swing, our blades met with a metallic screech sounding, followed by vibrations running up and down through my arms.

I disengaged my target by jumping backwards to break the clash. I attempted to charge at him myself in the hopes of stabbing him. However, my attempts of a retaliation were shattered almost immediately by a sharp pain greeting my left cheek and knocking me off my feet entirely. Did he just…? From the way he held his left arm outwards, I deducted that he backhanded me.

"Pathetic! You fight without discipline!" My attacker didn't even take the opportunity to kill me while I was down...odd. Instead he paced back and forth, twirling his sword in his hand in an taunting fashion. "Get up and die with honour!"

My check burned in pain as I felt the area where he had struck me with a free hand. Red liquid spattered the normally-cyan fur of my hand. I was bleeding…that bastard…

I clenched my slightly-bloodied hand into a tight fist and forced myself back up onto my feet. I was _not_ going to let him get away with this. Again, I lunged for him, but when he tried to repeat his last counter, I swiftly ducked under his arm and tried to plunge my knife in between the two pincer like blades on the bisharp's torso, closing my eyes so I couldn't see that I had killed someone. When my weapon made contact with him, a metallic clink sounded.

A...clink…? Wha…?

I slowly opened my eyes, only to see that my knife failed to even penetrate my enemy's body… why…?

I nervously looked up at bisharp, whose eyes were half shut and giving me a look that just screamed 'seriously?' Before he could do anything however, I let go of the knife with my right hand and smacked him in the face with my open palm. He screamed as he stumbled backwards and dropped his feather, holding his golden face in pain with his left hand. Alright! Looks like blunt force was the way to go! My palm stung like all hell though, because it appeared he had metal armour covering his whole body. That probably explained why I couldn't stab him at least…

"W-Woo! Go Matt!" Hazel cheered from behind cover, still sounding quite shaken. The bisharp growled and reached into a pouch on his belt and unleashed another volley of stars in her general direction; causing the startled eevee to duck further behind the chair. "Eep! S-sorry!"

As if he knew about my new strategy, the assassin changed stance with his blade, holding its hilt with both hands and angling it downwards at an angle while holding it in front of his face and keeping his legs as wide as he could. His small eyes darted from me to his discarded feather on the floor next to his feet. With great speed, he kicked his accessory up from the ground and caught it with his left hand and placed it where it belonged. Once he was accessorised, he tilted his head at me in a beckoning fashion.

Taking my blade in an iron grip, I ran for him. Almost as if instinct started to kick in, I began screaming loudly as I charged him. Once I was close enough, I jumped to make up for our drastic height difference. He tensed in preparation for the moment our blades clashed. Bingo. I quickly threw my blade aside and pulled my arm back for another physical strike. He hastily sheathed his rather flimsy looking sword away from me, choosing to grab my arm painfully when I got close with his left hand. Even as I was in his literal iron grip, I still used my free hand to force palm him, though he kept countering me with his forearm. Both of our arms were practically blurs as they repeatedly made painful contact. During this attack, we both occasionally glanced at each other's faces and scowled.

"Hmph. Enough of this charade!" The swordsman hissed and grabbed my other hand tightly. Both of our hands were locked together tightly, as he began spinning on his heels quickly, fast enough to angle my entire body at a horizontally. I began screaming as he upped the tempo of his twirling enough to match a cyclone's. One at max speed, he let go of my hands, sending my flying away from him. "Begone with you!"

I flew painfully into the chair before, thankfully avoiding the stars lodged into it. The sheer force at which I hit the piece of furniture was enough to knock it over backwards onto the ground. It landed with a heavy thud, knocking me onto the floor, in front of a cowering eevee holding her long ears over her eyes and quivering.

"H-Hazel!" I gasped, due to a mixture of pain and fear. "I-I need your help! This guy is too much for me to handle alone!"

She moved one of her paws from her eyes, fearfully looking at me.

"M-Matt? Are you ok?!" She jumped to her feet and rushed over to me and began to examine my injuries. She felt my cheek with a paw, recoiling it away upon discovering blood on it. She looked at the crimson liquid on her hand, her face notably dropping. "Ar-Arceus above...you're bleeding...that prick…! Where the fuck is he?! Nobody gets away with hurting my human-riolu buddy! Nobody!"

Hazel swallowed her fears and was about to move out of cover to engage the attacker, though this was short lived due to a something suddenly casting a shadow over us. We both looked up, only to see an upside down bisharp above us midair, performing a backflip. He gracefully landed on his feet, causing the stone ground below to crack under his heavy hooves.

"There you are! Fight back!" He roared, reaching for his sheathe. But as soon as his sword was out of it container, a ball of pure shadow struck his hand, sending his weapon flying out of his grasp and causing him to hold his hand in pain. "W-What the devil—?!"

"T-there you are twat! Yeah! Two against one! You better be afraid!" Hazel shakily threatened. "I hope you liked that shadow ball! Because there's a _lot_ more of those where that came from!"

"This is not your battle, girl! Leave us!"

"Not bloody likely!" Hazel shot another shadow ball from her mouth at the assassin, hitting him directly in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards. The attacker held his torso in pain and grunted, getting a somewhat-confident laugh out of Hazel. "Ha! Gotcha bugger!"

"Gah...insolent little girl…" Bisharp grunted and stood at full height, seemingly shrugging off the attack and composing himself. "It appears I might need to take another life today…pity."

With another quick pounce, the attacker kicked Hazel into the side of a car, injuring the poor eevee's back. Hazel whimpered as she couldn't even properly stand. Even at a distance, I could see that she had begun to cry.

"H-Hazel!" I cried out for my friend and tried to take a few steps towards her, only to have a metallic arm block my path.

"Hmph...pathetic...a perfect match for you I suppose, human," My opponent scoffed with his back turned to me. He slowly angled his gaze towards me, his eyes filled with a sick amusement. "At least you're going to have a partner in death."

"A-as if I'd let you put a hand on her!"

"Ha! And yet, you let me kick your little girlfriend here?!" Bisharp turned round to face me with a jolly expression.

" _Girlfriend?!"_ Both Hazel and I shouted in unison, as she shot out a shadow ball and I charged the bisharp: who sighed and cartwheeled out of the way. Before I could even comprehend what just happened, the shadow ball and my torso made contact with each other. Pain was all I felt as I was knocked completely off my feet and sent me flying back a few meters. I heard Hazel gasp loudly as I winced in sheer pain while clutching my chest. It was sore to even breathe.

"Oh my Lord! M-Matthew! I'm so sorry!" Hazel called out, sounding seconds away from crying. "I'm so…"

"Incompetent wretches...I didn't even need to raise my hand." The sharp noise of a blade being picked up off the ground echoed throughout the now silent room, followed shortly by hooves marching across the stone floor before stopping. I painfully opened one eye, only to see the sharp assassin looming over me with his sword in hand. "This was a humiliating display for everyone involved. You've failed me. You've failed your own race and you've failed that eevee. But most importantly," he leaned in closer to me. "You've failed yourself. Death is all you deserve for this failure. Do you have anything to say before I execute you?"

My mind drew blank. Was this really the end? What a cruel hand life gave me...throwing me into this world with no memories, seeing one last vision of my family, only to be cut down by this asshole…why me…?

I began to sob softly as I closed my eyes tightly. I didn't want to die...I just wanted my family…my...family…?

" _We_ _never_ _yield. No matter what. Even if the situation is at the most dire point,"_ Suddenly _,_ James repeated himself my head. " _We die on our own damn terms. Understood?"_

Dad...I...Didn't know what to even say. It was just a memory...but, it felt like my dad knew of what situation I was in and called out to me…

"Absolutely pathetic!" Bisharp spat, contempt obvious in his voice. "A warrior; no matter how pathetic, must die with honour! Not cry like some mere infant!"

"N-no...Bisharp...I do have one last thing to say…" I opened my eyes, feeling a mixture of pain and determination coursing through me.

"And what would that be?"

"I-I only die on my own terms!" Even through the immense pain, I forced myself up from the ground and rushed at him.

"What—?!" His confused state allowed me to actually hit him with another force palm. I wasn't sure how, but I had struck him in a very...humiliating area...his crotch...He choked in agony as his grip around his sword loosened, eventually dropping it. I recoiled my hand away from his privates, as his legs buckled and he fell to the floor coughing. "Y-you…! Such...dis—"

Enough was enough. I was already sick of this guy. Now that he was on the floor, we were roughly the same height. I took this opportunity to punch him as hard as I could, squarely on the forehead.

And with that, he was unconscious and fell over backwards...finally...it was over…

I overlooked his knocked out body for a moment, before turning around and limping towards my friend. She lay on the ground crying, likely in a mixture of pain and regret.

"You ok Hazel?" I knelt, offering her a hand.

"It...hurts...to move…" she choked, struggling to get up. "Ow…"

Using my slightly less roughed up state, I picked her up, with one hand on her back and the other on her...rump…

Once the surprisingly light fox was properly in my grasp, she wrapped her paws around my neck and gently rested her head on my shoulder, her fluffy hair tickling my chin. She tightly closed her eyes and quietly groaned in pain.

"T-thank you Matt…"

"No problem...we need medical attention…" I was about to head for the exit, when a light tapping on my back stopped me in my tracks.

"Hold on! That guy might have an Oran Berry or two! Come on! Let's see!" She weakly moved her head back to look at me, flashing her normal energetic smile, her eyes still damp with tears.

I carefully approached the bisharp and kicked the side of his torso to confirm he was no longer a threat. Once I was confident that he wasn't going to lunge at me, I knelt down and began a thorough investigation of all the little pouches and containers around his waist, while keeping a secure hold on the eevee's...bottom. The fact we were both stark naked by human standards certainly wasn't helping anything. No...focus Matt, focus!

I found many peculiar items within his pouches, most of which were of no use to us. One of them was filled to the brim with shurikens and kunais. I was rather worried about the sheer number of the sharp weapons he owned, it was like he was prepared to kill an entire army with them!

In another bigger bag was a wooden fan and what appeared to be a story of some sort. I didn't have much time to read, so I needed to move on.

But after an almost fruitless search, I eventually found what I was looking for! A blue fruit about the size of an apple, or my fist! I presented it to the eevee clinging to my neck, who squirmed in excitement.

"Aha! That's one! Give it here!"

She didn't even take the fruit in her paws, she just took a huge bite the second I held it near her muzzle. I could swear that she was lightly purring as she happily ate her half of the fruit. I simply observed her eat for a moment, before mimicking her and taking a bite of the berry myself. An overwhelming sensation of sweet and sour greeted my taste buds upon my first nibble, along with the fruit's juices bringing moisture to my previously-dry mouth. It was an interesting flavour, but I fairly enjoyed it. Almost as soon as it entered my stomach, I felt the pain slowly disappearing.

"I'm shattered...let's tell the police and call it a day…" Hazel yawned audibly, shifting around in my hold for maximum comfort. "Can I trust you to carry me to an inn if I fall asleep…?"

"Sure. How are you so tired anyway? I did the majority of the fighting."

"Hmm…?" She sounded like she was seconds away from nodding off into dreamland. "Oh...I...didn't sleep last night…like...at all. I think that fight just wasted what little energy I had left..."

For goodness sake Hazel...that girl would live off books if she could. I was about to criticise her about her habits, until I felt her head slump against my shoulder, her cold nose pressing against my neck and her front paws slipping slightly from my neck. Really Hazel? _Really?_

There I stood, holding a sleeping eevee while my entire body ached. I had not expected this was how my day was going to have started. How long had I been awake for? Fifteen minutes at most, probably, and already I felt like collapsing into bed.

I began to approach the exit, but something bumped into me as I entered the doorway, almost knocking me down. Again.

Standing taller than even the bisharp, was a gardevoir, who stood there elegantly, her red eyes scanning me closely.

"Sorry ma'am…" I shamefully looked down at my feet.

"M-Ma'am?!" They stuttered in a surprisingly deep voice, their eyes darting between Hazel and I. "Excuse me little one! I'm a man! There's only one girl in this…" he suddenly looked over me, to the assassin's unconscious form, his shocked expression turning to an unsettling grin. "Oh my...did you do this?"

I turned around to look at the bisharp, then back to the gardevoir.

"Y-yes…? That was me...and her." I explained as I tilted my head at Hazel. "I was just wondering ma— sir, if you could contact the police...he tried to kill me…"

"You mean _you_ two _?_ A tiny riolu and an eevee pup managed to decimate poor shorty? My my...my my my…" he placed a hand over his mouth and began giggling while approaching the bisharp. "Absolutely wonderful! Haha! Ah...that's just wonderful."

"Do...do you know him…?" I cautiously asked, taking a few nervous steps backwards, with the intention of hightailing it the second he tried anything. "Please tell me you—"

"Of course little one! He's my comrade in arms!" He laughed once more as his hands began to glow green. He moved his arms in a very soothing manner over the bisharp, who stirred. I immediately turned around and tried to flee, only to run into something metal, which finally knocked me onto my butt. I looked up to make eye contact with a floating golden sword, who didn't look very impressed. And behind him was a pangoro, who was cracking his knuckles. "Oh, and so are they."

"H-Hazel...wake up Hazel!" I began to shake the eevee as I scrambled to my feet and started to back away from the aegislash and pangoro, while making sure not to get too close to the gardevoir and bisharp.

Why me…?

* * *

**Hazel**

Matt's voice awoke me, along with a shaking feeling on my back. I slowly opened my eyes, only to see darkness…? I shifted my head to find I had buried my face in Matt's neck while I had slept. I began to burn up in embarrassment. He didn't seem to mind too much, which was a relief. In fact he was quite preoccupied with something. I looked over his shoulder, only to see a gardevoir helping that twatty bisharp up onto his feet. Uh oh. I gazed behind myself and saw an aegislash and pangoro slowly approaching us. Double uh oh.

"M-Matt? What's going on…? Who are these people?!" I tightly clung onto the riolu and repeatedly and fearfully looked the four hitmen approaching from both sides.

"Let us cast our Lord's judgement upon you, human," The living sword stated whilst changing his stance from defensive to offensive. "Relinquish the eevee and submit!"

"Oh dear! I don't think he'll let his little girlfriend go anytime soon! We might need to eliminate that one too! Don't worry...I'll wait for you two to have one last romantic farewell...and maybe a kiss too, if I'm feeling particularly generous today," The gardevoir taunted with a smile that was full of sadism and amusement. "Go on! Don't keep the crowd waiting!"

The absolute cheek of that...that...utter twat! How dare he try and embarrass me like that! I wasn't Matt's girlfriend! For heaven's sake I've only known him for three days!

I gazed at the effeminate man with murderous intent, snarling at him in an attempt to coax him into believing I wasn't flustered. Though Matt snapped me out of it by whimpering quietly.

"Y-your claws…" The riolu gasped "Get them out of my back…"

"Oh...Sorry…" I mumbled as I retracted my claws from Matt.

"Hmm...not quite a romantic farewell or kiss...how disappointing...ah well." The frilly fucker sighed, which just flustered me even more.

"Be careful with the blue one…" Bisharp growled, picking his discarded sword up from the ground. "He goes for the groin…"

"Enough 'gabbin! Let's just do this prick in and be done with it!" The biggest of the four cracked his knuckles together and tried to charge Matt; who immediately bolted to the right and slid under a large human vehicle. I heard a massive crash sound afterwards, which I theorised to be the pangoro smashing into a nearby display due to an improper knowledge of basic momentum.

"Hazel, can you walk?" Matt huffed, holding me close to the floor, his eyes full of worry and fear. "I can't do this alone…"

"I'll try…" I whimpered quietly, before he slowly lowered me to the floor, still holding my sides tightly. Once my feet and the ground made contact, he slowly loosened his grip on my hips. As soon as his support was gone though, my back spasmed in pure agony, as I fell into Matt's chest. He immediately caught me and hoisted me up again. "S-sorry Matt...those berries take time to work their magic...I-I can still use shadow ball to get rid of people from behind, if you like…"

"Yes, that could work...I need a weapon as well...a gun hopefully…"

"I think they went under here!" The most effeminate of the four bastards teased, as his slender legs cast a shadow over us. "My my...I wonder what they're doing under there…? Nothing risqué, I hope…"

This prick was unreal. Absolutely sickening…

The large vehicle shook, as massive paws latched onto the underside, mere inches away from Matt and I. I began shaking as I clung onto Matt once again. I...I didn't want to die…

As if he could sense my fear, the riolu tightened his hold on me and held me close to his chest for reassurance. I could feel his heart was racing as he began scurrying away from the hands that slowly lifted our cover. With a groan, the vehicle was standing vertically, exposing Matt and I to our attackers.

"My my my...look at them! Practically seconds away from going at it! Absolutely precious!" The green one laughed loudly while scanning us with cruel red eyes.

"Why are you so obsessed with those two 'fuckin?!" The pangoro averted his gaze to the girly man, as did his teammates. I took this opportunity to hide my face in Matt's chest fur in a mixture of fear and embarrassment.

"Oh please! Look at those two little darlings! They're practically made for each other! Before we kill them...I have something to do...it would be a massive embarrassment if these little ones weren't our targets...eh _shorty_?"

I wish I could rip his throat out. Why was he so insistent that Matt and I were a thing?! I wasn't sure whether or not to be more confused or embarrassed about this whole situation.

"Hmph. It's obvious this is the interloper. He's cornered. Let's just dispose of this dishonourable cretin and be done with—" The bisharp began, right before getting cut off by the gardevoir twat.

"Ah ah ah!" Gardevoir waggled his finger in a very demeaning manner. "These two could have some _valuable_ information! A potential human! Think of the knowledge!"

Bisharp scowled even harder than he already was and looked expectantly at the aegislash; who somehow sighed.

"He's right unfortunately. Maybe we'll find out why Starmie wants this rodent's head..."

"Bah! Do as you will. Just don't expect anything useful to come of this!" The second sharpest of the bunch scoffed, turning on his feet and going elsewhere.

I wasn't sure why these people weren't killing us right away, but this could give us ample opportunity to come up with an escape plan! Where to begin—?!

But that's when I felt a presence enter my mind. A cruel, unwelcoming presence.

" _Let's start with you little one…_ " Gardevoir's voice echoed through my mind, as well as the room itself. " _What's a job if not done thoroughly?"_

Get out of my—

" _I don't think so m'dear. I'd advise you not to resist too much...my interrogations tend to leave people...brain dead if they pose to much mental strife…"_

This wasn't good, I need him out of my mind as soon as—

" _Hmm...let me see...let me see...ah! Secrets! This could be an interesting subject!"_

Oh no. Why my secrets?! Anything but—!

" _Hmm…? oh my...how embarrassing...do you honestly do THAT when stressed out? I wouldn't blame you m'dear. I fairly enjoy that too, under the right circumstances…"_

No...I immediately felt tears welling up in my eyes as he poked around my head for anything and everything. Why did he have to bring that up…? Why?! All I could do was sink lower into a ball in Matt's arms and sob.

" _Aww...don't cry girly...I'm sure I can bring something up to lighten the mood...maybe ah! Maybe the riolus you find to be ever so dashing! You've always yearned for the strong embrace of one of these creatures haven't you? Yes, I see all of the little pictures and diagrams you've either collected or drawn yourself...I must say, you're a very lucky girl to have this handsome young riolu holding you in his arms...very lucky indeed...but my question is...do you enjoy your riolus enough to…? Ahaha...I don't even need to look to come to that conclusion..."_

Why...Why?! That...monster...that utter…how did he…?

I couldn't help but bawl loudly into Matt's chest, clinging onto him as tightly if he were my mum. It was pathetic...it really was...He was just practically a stranger as well…

But even despite the fact that we were pretty much strangers...He hugged me back tightly with one hand, placing his other on the back of my head and pressing it into his neck while also letting out a low growl directed to the gardevoir; who simply laughed at me…

"Leave. Her. Alone." Matt grizzled. "Now! Or else!"

Did he not care about all that gardevoir had revealed…?

"Did you hear that fellow knights?! He's threatening me! Ooh I feel so honoured to be threatened by a human! Perhaps while he bravados, she's going to touch herself to it! Ahahahaha!"

Never have I felt so humiliated in my entire life... I just wanted to die...how was Matt going to feel about me now…? That bloody gardevoir ruined everything…

"Gardevoir?! Are you actually going to interrogate them?! Or are you just going to fantasise about what these two do in the bedroom?!" The aegislash suddenly snapped at his underling with burning fury in his single purple eye. "If you're not going to do anything of value then I—!"

"And you will cut me down yada yada ya. Very well, ruin _ALL_ of my fun why don't you? I'm done with the girl. I'll leave all the probing of her deep, secret locations to the interloper. Now..."

Matt's grasp on me tightened painfully as his eyes slowly turned to the same shade of dark pink as gardevoir's.

"N-ngh...Get out of my—!"

"Tsk tsk...that's the first thing they always say when I start looking. It's always the 'Get outta my head' line! So cliche! I for one would say 'Good day fellow psychic! How do you do?" He smiled deeply. "Right before I fry their inferior brains...well, metaphorically at least. I wish I had the mental capacity to do that...but enough about me...let's speak more about you my darling little humie!"

I shifted my attention to my friend, then to my enemy. Their eyes were both wide open and glowing bright magenta. Gardevoir wore an expression of pure amusement and sadism; as opposed to Matt's pained grimace. The other three knights just stared at us with varying levels of uncaringness. Bisharp simply polished his sword, pangoro just stood with crossed arms, while aegislash...meditated? Strange…

"H-heh...this one is putting up more resistance than the little receptacle in his arms…" Gardevoir muttered, his smile falling somewhat. "I-Interesting…"

The second tallest of the knights raised his arms and pointed them towards the riolu, channeling his psychic by the looks of it.

"C'mon damn you...what do you have in that head of yours?!" Gardevoir clenched his teeth. "Are you sure you don't want to plunge yourself as deep as you can into the depths of that little—?!" He choked suddenly, his splayed fingers tightening into claws. "Wh-what is…? H-humans...of course...what are they…ugh..."

The gardevoir gasped, stumbling backwards and holding his head in disorientation. He let out an agonising scream as he almost fell off his feet, before being caught by his larger, furry colleague.

"T-that little mutt! Be weary of him!" Gardevoir stuttered, trying to compose himself. "He's dangerous!"

The bisharp, pangoro and aegislash all looked at each other and nodded, before slowly approaching us.

"Surround them, knights! Do _not_ let them escape!" the sword barked loudly. "May we strike with the wrath of Lord Starmie!"

Lord who? What was even happening anymore? What did gardevoir even see in Matt's head? No time for questions though...it was time to fight!

Matt, while still holding me, started to growl and back away from the four bastards closing in on us.

I prayed to any and all gods that we made this out in one piece…

* * *

_**End of Chapter…** _


	6. Museum Madness-Part 2

(AN) hello hello, welcome back to PoD! Now, before we begin, I'd like to announce that my buddy CharEmblem and I have both decided that our stories should be crossovers! So I implore you to check his story Forgotten Echoes whenever he releases it.

Also, huge thanks go to my fellow author and buddy, Ikcatcher! For being my beta for the first half of this chapter! You should totally check him out once you get the chance!

But without further ado or promotion,

Let's begin!

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Museum Madness-part 2** _

**Matt**

This was bad. This was _very_ bad.

I slowly backed away from the four approaching attackers, holding Hazel in an iron grip. She desperately clung onto me in fear, sobbing lightly because of what the disgusting gardevoir had revealed. I felt sorrow for her more than anything. I didn't even care that she had a particular fetish for my 'kind.' All I cared about was the fact she was crying, which hurt me more than anything.

But what did that gardevoir see in my head? I wasn't even sure myself. He just suddenly reacted while poking around…but there was no time for pondering. I needed to fight! Or run! Whatever had a more realistic chance of survival!

The pangoro was the first to make a move: a bum rush. With great speed, the ball of fluff and blubber charged at us with a roar. I had to make my move before he could even get close. I swallowed my fear and charged at the beast that was rapidly accelerating towards me. I felt a familiar set of claws dig into my back again, along with a ear-piercing feminine scream overpowering my hearing completely. I quickly fell to my knees, sliding under the gap in between the pangoro's legs, leaving a very bewildered panda still charging at frightening amounts of speed.

"Eh, what did—?!" The raging beast couldn't sufficiently slow himself down, causing him to crash face first into the car in front of him, knocking it over completely with a huge crash.

"Ahahaha! Absolutely brilliant!" The perverted gardevoir laughed out loud while clapping, as his counterparts groaned. "That was top notch acrobatics from the—!"

"S-shut yer trap!" Hazel swung herself around and unleashed a shadow ball from her mouth, aiming for the green one.

The gardevoir simply giggled and stopped the ball of energy with an open palm, with his arm suffering slight recoil. He held it in place in front of his splayed fingers with an impossibility smug grin.

"Tsk tsk. Feisty little gal aren't you? No wonder he stays around for you," he smirked as his teammates began to circle us. "You probably relish in the thought of merely touching his—"

Another volley of shadow balls was lobbed at gardevoir, who just rolled his eyes and stopped them as well and started juggling. "Haha...you don't know when to quit do you?"

I decided to run to my left before the four could make their move, my feet practically a blur on the stone floor as I tried to make a mad dash for the exit, still carrying my fluffy friend.

" _What are you doing knights?!"_ Aegislash roared from behind us, his booming voice oozing with authority. " _Do not let them escape!"_

Before I could even get close to the exit, a burning pain suddenly erupted in my leg, causing me to fall over and drop Hazel. We both yelped as we hit the floor painfully. I managed to look behind me, only to see the gardevoir standing some distance away with an outstretched arm. He was also missing one of the shadow balls Hazel had shot at him, I had concluded that he had thrown one at me. I desperately tried to get on my feet, but the agony in my left leg was too much to bear.

"Not a problem, dear Aegislash. Do you think I'd just let them escape in such a simple manner? It's your kill now."

I struggled to get onto my feet while desperately trying to reach Hazel, who finally managed to stand up shakily.

"C'mon M-Matthew! All fours like a normal riolu! Run!" She shouted as she tried to make a break for the exit.

All fours like a normal riolu…?

In a split second reaction, I shakily stood up, with my backwards pointing ankles allowing me to effectively stand using all of limbs. Not unlike Hazel. But I didn't have time to adapt to this, as I heard a very familiar set of metal hooves charging at me from behind. With a gulp, I threw my arms (now forelegs) in front of me and used my hinds to spring forward.

My first attempt at running as a quadruped failed miserably as my injured leg burned once again, knocking me down. I quickly rolled onto my back and saw bisharp performing a large jump towards me, his sword pointed downward to stab me for when he landed. I hastily rolled to my right, letting Bisharp land mere inches away from me with a massive metallic thud, his sword now lodged in the ground. He struggled to pull his weapon from the stone, quietly growling obscenities under his breath.

Once again I tried to run on all of my limbs, being careful not to exert myself too much. Avoiding putting too much pressure on my left hind, I made a few cautious steps, before bolting forward towards Hazel; who was struggling to open the door due to her lack of height. I was about to open the door for her, but a glowing pink energy forced it shut, followed shortly by the sadistically effeminate voice of the gardevoir.

"Ah-ah-ah! How very naughty! Trying to escape us?!" He started to giggle uncontrollably as both Hazel and I struggled to open the door. "Looks like it's my turn to—"

_Crunch._

Gardevoir had stepped on something, making a horrible metal noise that stopped the "man" in his tracks. Everyone froze to see what he had trodden on. But as he bent over with a curious expression, I heard Hazel shriek in horror, before seeing her desperately searching her face for something. I quickly realised what she was missing.

"What's this…?" Gardevoir asked nobody in particular, while holding a pair of ovular blue glasses, which had one of the arms snapped off. "Glasses…? Oh my... I broke little eevee's spectacles…oh well. Looks like she's going to have to squint in the face of death...ahaha..."

Hazel's face twisted into pure hatred, as frustrated tears formed in her eyes and she started shivering.

"Whoopsie daisy...I'm so _very_ sorry, girly..." He smiled in faux bashfulness. But as he gloated, Hazel quietly lunged at the gardevoir as he approached. "I'll make sure to-AH! You little bitch!"

Hazel had her teeth sunk quite deep into his leg and was growling loudly.

"Hmph. That shut him up. Finally," Bisharp scoffed as he finally managed to pull his blade from the ground.

Hazel quickly withdrew from the gardevoir's leg before he could properly react, leaving a deep wound that began bleeding heavily. The effeminate man fell down to one knee, holding his ankle in pain. With a quick motion, Hazel swiped what rightfully belonged to her, before spitting on gardevoir and running back to me. The way Hazel stared down at her broken glasses with a slightly bloody muzzle...disturbed me.

"Y-You vile…" Gardevoir whimpered as he held his ankle in agony and trying to stop the bleeding with his own healing powers, before aiming above us and unleashing all of his remaining shadow balls into the ceiling above the door, causing it to collapse and block our only method of escape. "T-there… no escape for you rodents…"

This was not good. Our only method of escape was now cut off, and we were now stuck in a room with these psychopaths. Things were not looking good for us…

I swallowed and turned around, readying myself for whatever came next. The Pangoro and Bisharp were slowly approaching us, while Aegislash was looking through a bag next to the gardevoir, likely for supplies to tend to his wound. The sword's singular purple eye shot from gardevoir to Hazel in pure disgust.

Pangoro made his move first, charging at us with swinging arms and destroying several displays in his gargantuan wake. I gulped, bracing myself for impact. As soon as he got close, even through the dull pain and my legs quaking in fear, I forced myself to wait for an opening. When he got somewhat close, I lunged at his leg and pulled my arm back to punch it, only to have a shuriken woosh past my arm. I yelped in pain as I felt a new cut open up on my bicep, causing another rush of burning sensation to course through the area. I grasped my arm and fumbled into the beefy leg of pangoro, causing him to stumble over his own weight and fall to the ground with a huge thud. Before I got crushed completely, I stumbled out of the way, while still clutching my arm.

"You idiot shorty! Stop throwing your little toys at him!" The perverted bastard hissed as the aegislash patched his leg up. "Fight him you little b—!"

"Silence! Or there will be one reserved for you as well!" The bisharp yelled back at his comrade and pointing his sword at the frilly man.

"Stop bickering and actually kill them!" The supposed leader of the group yelled, cut off only by a high pitched scream sounding.

It was Hazel's.

I swung my entire body around, only to see pangoro attacking my only friend, swatting at her with a huge paw while using the other to pick himself up off the floor.

"Hazel!" I shouted and made a mad dash for her, disregarding everyone else in the room's existence completely and clutching my bleeding arm tightly.

The behemoth pokemon raised an arm to try and crush her, but I interrupted him by kicking him as hard as I could in the back of the knee. This attack caused him to stumble forward before quickly turning around with a grunt. He towered over me, standing at least twice as big as my much smaller body.

Before he could do anything, I quickly scrunched my paw into a fist and punched him square in the crotch, which sent another rush of pain throughout my arm. The panda fell to one knee, wincing in pain and muttering several obscenities under his breath while holding his groin.

I took this opportunity to run in a random direction for cover as well as to search for any item that could prove useful, beckoning Hazel to follow me by waving an arm as I dropped to all fours again.

As Hazel and I darted between cover, we heard the familiar sound of Bisharp's hooves charging across the hard stone floor, closing in on us. Even when we were on all four legs, our enemy was closing in on us fast.

"M-Matt!" Hazel said in a quiet, yet still terrified voice. "We need somewhere to hide! Just until we find a plan!"

"Right!" I nodded, quickly scoping out a nearby large tractor that could possibly provide a good hiding place.

Running under the massive vehicle, we climbed up the ladders that faced the grey wall and quickly found a hiding spot under the steering wheel once in the cabin.

I quickly pushed the lock mechanisms down and pulled the seat as far forward as it could go, creating a somewhat concealed spot. As soon as I rested my back against the wall, I felt a small pair of paws grab my injured arm.

"Oof...pretty nasty that is…" Hazel whispered, as she started pulling a bandage out of her bag. "Hold still a second…"

She started to patch me up, wrapping the white cloth around my bicep. The bandage immediately started soaking up my blood, making me feel immediately queasy. She tied it up surprisingly neatly considering her shaky demeanour, physically cringing at the sight of my blood on her shaking paws.

"It's not too tight is it?"

"I-It's fine…thank you..." I gave her a brief smile. "Alright here's the plan—"

I was about to discuss whatever half assed plan I could come up with, but a noise from outside the vehicle sounded, causing both of us to flinch and press ourselves into the wall.

"Hmph...where are they…?" It was the bisharp, his voice muffled by the thick metal between us. Hazel and I made brief eye contact, before we both shushed each other by putting a digit in front of our mouths. His hooves echoed quietly throughout the room, causing us both to flinch each time the metallic clink sounded. The assassin grumbled as it sounded like he was searching through displays for us. "...damn pests…"

His voice was getting closer. My entire body tensed up as the vehicle shook with a sudden weight on its side. I swallowed, shivering due to the intense rush of adrenaline coursing through me. Hazel's fearful brown eyes darted from me, to the door. She reached up to her slender ears, pulled them over her eyes and started quivering. A shadow cast itself through the window. The door jiggled as our enemy pulled on the handle. The pulling only increased in speed as Bisharp grew more impatient.

"Bah! Locked…" he scoffed, before he stopped assaulting the door, followed only by the sound of a sword slowly unsheathing.

I couldn't breathe. This couldn't be the end... _It couldn't be…_

My body tensed up as I simply looked at the door, with the sounds of the tiny fox's light sobs accompanying my staring.

But suddenly, the noises of a display falling over somewhere nearby broke us out of our trance.

"Gotcha…" Bisharp turned on his heels to face the noise.

Thank the stars he didn't see us...

The noise of Bisharp jumping down back onto the stone floor was enough to somewhat dispel the immense fear.

"T-that was close…" I let out a sigh of relief, my heart still racing. "Alright...here's the p-plan...we need to open the door somehow, there's gotta be something laying around that can do the job…"

Hazel searched through her bag again, still quaking in fear. What was she looking for…?

"B-bollocks...I'm outta blast seeds…" she whimpered, throwing her bag down in defeat. "S-sorry Matthew…"

Damn it...there had to be some kind of explosive lying around here somewhere…our lives were counting on it!

We remained still and silent for a moment, listening to the four assassins talk amongst themselves while searching for us, albeit slightly muffled due to the steel in between us.

" _Hmph...no sign of the target over here…"_ The sword blade Pokemon scoffed. " _They possibly have found an escape route...dishonourable cretins..."_

" _R-remind me to rip that little bitch in two...can't feel my bloody leg…"_

" _Little bastard's gonna pay for wot 'e did to me! I swear, next time I see him I'm gonna—"_

" _Calm yourselves knights...you mustn't let these things get to you...lest you want them to use your anger to their advantage…"_ The sword calmly stated, his voice completely devoid of emotion. " _Now. Pangoro, cover the exit with Bisharp. Gardevoir, just sit there and get some rest."_

" _And what of you, dear Aegislash…?"_

" _I will personally find them."_

Not good. It'd only be a matter of time before he found us, so now was probably the best time to try and find some means of escape. I shot a glance at Hazel, who stared back at me with a face full of terror. I really hated that she was roped into this whole mess because of me...she deserved this less than I did. I needed to get both of us out of here as soon as possible. Hopefully I could survive long enough to see that happen. To think what would happen to me if I lost my only friend…

My tail was between my legs. Figuratively and literally. I didn't want to step foot outside of our hiding spot. But I had to. It was either stay here and get caught, or leave and possibly escape or get killed. But as long as that possibility of freedom existed, even if it was almost impossible to reach, I would take my chances and go for it. My legs felt like jelly as I slowly started to rise.

"S-stay here Hazel, you'll be safe." I stood up as carefully as I could, keeping my head as low as possible and navigating my way to the door, while trying to resist the feelings of intense fear. "I'll be right back..."

"W-where are you going…?" Her ears dropped, her shaking only intensifying.

"I'm going to look for whatever I can find that could help...please, just stay here. Push down that thing on the door once I leave." I shakily explained as I opened the door facing the wall and leaving the supposed safety of the vehicle and jumped onto the floor below. Hazel stared down at me, before slowly closing the door.

"B-be careful Matt…" she muttered, as she finally shut the door. And with a click, the door was locked behind me.

Alright Matthew...you can do this…

I dropped to all fours again and started slinking around cover, searching through any storage container and display I came across while keeping my head down.

While searching through a display of what appeared to be farming tools of varying shapes and sizes, I suddenly felt an icy cold chill shoot up my spine, causing me to duck for cover under the furniture. I crawled backwards as I saw Aegislash slowly hover past, his arms folded behind his back and his shield ominously floating in front of him. I held my breath, freezing in place as he stopped next to my hiding place.

The sword turned to face the display, followed shortly by the window on top creaking open and the sounds of metallic tools rattling as the knight inspected them.

Go away, go away, _go away_ — _yes!_

Aegislash slowly shut the storage container, turned around and floated away!

I breathed in heavily, letting in as much oxygen as I could, before turning around and scanning the immediate area behind the wooden case. I looked over the room to my right, seeing the gardevoir sitting atop a wooden crate and cradling his leg. Just beside him was the door, guarded by Pangoro and Bisharp, who were exchanging banter of some sort.

I shifted my attention to the left, where I saw the knife I fought Bisharp with! If I could just get to it...

Darting my eyes left to right, I was about to leave my cover. The second I made a run for it however, I ran painfully into a shield that quickly blocked me and knocked me down completely. I followed the purple arm that held the shield, eventually meeting the wrathful gaze of a single half opened purple eye. I started trembling as he looked me up and down.

"There you are rodent. Do not think you can hide from me," He scoffed with a hollow voice. "Stand. _Now!_ Face death with at least some semblance of dignity. And we'll let _her_ go."

I hastily followed his orders, slowly rising to my feet.

" _I think not! That little slag has left a scar that'll never—"_ Gardevoir protested, before Aegislash quickly turned his entire body around and shot an icy cold glare that silenced the gardevoir almost instantly, who let out a notably nervous chuckle and dropped his head. "O-of course! We'll let her go! Ahaha, ignore silly old me…"

The leader of the assassins rolled his eye and stared back at me with the same cold gaze.

I hastily tried to attack him with a swift punch, but the second my fist and his body made contact, the same icy feeling shot throughout my arm as my hand just phased right through him.

"What are you even doing Interloper?" He asked, clearly unamused. Rather than responding, I withdrew my hand from him and sprinted past to the knife. "Cease!"

I ran across the stone floor scrambling to get to my blade, before a shadowy entity materialised in front of me. A single purple eye in amongst the darkness served as the only reminder of the identity of the abomination. It took the form of Aegislash, who immediately grabbed me by the neck, hoisting me off the ground completely. I struggled in his grasp, unable to even breathe. Even my attempts at punching his arm didn't seem to work.

"Interloper...you have been a minor annoyance at best…" He tightened his hold on me. "However...you fought somewhat valiantly. I shall pass this information onto my lord…"

I choked...this was the end, wasn't it?

But suddenly, his grip loosened; allowing me to breathe somewhat. His purple eye slowly scanned me, before looking into my eyes inquisitively.

" _Matt!"_ From across the room, I heard a terrified Hazel call out, which caught the attention of Aegislash as well. She stood in the open doorway of the tractor.

"L-let us go...please…we didn't do anything to you…" I pleaded pathetically with the knight; who coldly stared at me with a twitching eye. " _I...I don't wanna die…"_

"No...it's my lord's orders...I cannot disobey them…" Aegislash muttered, his eye darting from me, to Hazel and finally to his subordinates. "You must die! It is the will of—"

I quickly remembered my family one last time, I would never see them again, my dad, my big brother...I just wanted to go home…I could feel tears stinging my eyes as they formed and started trickling down my face. The aegislash cut himself off when he had noticed that I'd started crying, his grip loosening even further.

"Wot in Arceus' name are you 'playin at Aegislash?!" Pangoro broke the silence with a booming voice. "Kill 'im! And just be done with it!"

"Well spoken my fluffy friend! You're actually becoming comprehensible! Well done—"

"Shut yer trap for bloody once Gardevoir! Get. Rid. Of. The. _Human!_ " Pangoro growled, cracking his knuckles.

"I...I…" the sentient blade mumbled, our eyes meeting once again. Mine filled with tears, his with conflict.

The flustered blade continued to look around in utter silence for but a moment, before a distant sound of a door getting barged down broke said silence. While still holding me turned towards the door and shot a quick glance at his subordinates, who stared back with obvious confusion.

But in his moment of distraction, Aegislash had neglected to keep an eye on Hazel, who shot a shadow ball directly at the arm that held me. The orb of darkness made contact with the sword's arm, immediately severing it, dropping me to the floor painfully and causing him to scream in pain. The arm convulsed on the ground for a moment, before disintegrating into purple smoke, that quickly faded into nothingness.

I hastily grabbed the knife that was by my side and swallowed deeply. The ghost type, despite missing an half an arm, still tried to attack me. I countered his lunge by jumping up and pulling my arm back, still holding my weapon. I made a stabbing motion towards him, aiming for what appeared to be his most obvious weak point.

The leader of the team screamed bloody murder as I plunged my knife deep into his eye, the wound expelling a thick pitch black, yet icy cold liquid all over my knife and hand. I withdrew from him and took a few steps back, watching as the living sword held his injury with his only remaining hand. Even his team was utterly stunned by what I had just done. As I continued to walk backwards, I felt a sudden weight embrace my waist and wrap its paws around me. I took a quick glance down, seeing a familiar set of brown paws around my stomach.

"Matthew...thank Arceus you're alright…" Hazel whimpered quietly as she held me close.

"This isn't over yet Hazel, we need to—"

I was cut off by a muffled, but still frighteningly loud voice yelling from behind the collapsed door, causing both the panda and the Bisharp to slowly back away from it.

" _Three, two, one. Alright men, go go go! Storm the room!"_

The door, and the entire wall around it suddenly collapsed, revealing an entire brigade of magnemites, magnetons and even a single magnezone, all pointing their magnets at us. A few of the magnemites even had leashes that held growlithes, poochena and rockruffs.

_Oh my stars…!_

" _Police! Freeze!"_ the magnezone roared, pointing his large magnets straight at the gruff panda. " _Put your hands where we can see them!"_

"Officers I—" I tried to run over to them for assistance, but a magnemite's eye widened as he saw me approaching. He unleashed his growlithe.

Wha—?!

" _The riolu is armed! 'Sic em!"_

Oh fuck! My knife—!

For whatever reason, my hand refused to let go of my blade, whether it be out of fear or an unwillingness to give up a human relic. But before the growlithe ran into me, the largest of the supposed knights roared at the top of his lungs.

" _Enough of this shit!"_ He raised one arm above his head, scrunching his massive paw into a fist.

" _Pangoro no!"_ the brute's maroon comrade shouted as he brought his arm down with blinding speed.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as his fist grew closer to the stone floor. The police scrambled to escape the room or shield themselves with whatever they could, as did the two blade pokemon. Even Hazel desperately tried to make me move by tugging on my leg.

But it was all for naught; my body refused to budge.

The pangoro's punch collided with the floor beneath him, followed shortly by harsh tremors that knocked Hazel and me off our feet, as well as the police dog. Massive cracks shot across the floor and walls as the booming sounds of destruction started drowning out all my senses...

* * *

**Hazel**

" _Take cover! Earthquake! repeat! Earthqua—!"_ A magnemite's terrified cut off scream broke me from my fearful quivering as I slowly removed an ear from over my eye. The once pristine room had now spiraled into utter madness. The walls and ceiling had begun to collapse; dust and smoke started to fill the area as the once intimidating police force tried their absolute hardest to run. The calming blue lighting was replaced by harsh red and black from a fire that had broken out nearby.

I tried to push myself to my feet, but my previously injured leg spasmed in pain again. I scanned my surroundings for a moment, my eyes eventually landing on a startled riolu clutching a knife in his right hand whilst sitting on the ground, his eyes darting around the environment..

"Matthew! Are you alright?!" I limped over to the riolu and placed my front paws on his shoulders and began examining him for any injuries. He winced in pain suddenly during my search. Why did…? Oh! I removed my paw from his right shoulder. "Oof...sorry…"

"H-Hazel…? We need to get outta here!" He scrambled to his feet, wobbling because of the now dissipating tremors. He suddenly presented his weapon sideways at me. "H-hold this a sec…"

I tilted my head at him, but followed his orders anyway. I took the hilt of his weapon in my mouth, biting hard on the rubber handle. As quickly as he could, one of his arms wrapped around my back, the other around my haunches. Again, he lifted me off the ground.

"L-let's go! There's gotta be a new escape route around here somewhere!" He took his weapon from my mouth, holding me only with one arm, with the other holding the human weapon. I grabbed onto his neck for extra support.

"Escape?! What are you speaking about?! The police are right there Matt! They'll help us!"

"N-no! Y-you've seen this town! I don't think the police will forgive me for charging at them with a damn knife! We gotta get out of this town pronto!" He stuttered as he started to run to Arceus knew where.

This... _this_ _twat_! He could run, but I was staying. I'm _not_ letting this riolu ruin this city!

"Well unhand me! Now!" I struggled in his hold, causing him to look at me with concern in his eyes. His grip only tightened. " _Matthew."_

"No! I'm not losing you! Not now! ! We just need to escape ASAP!"

Before I could even respond, Matt jumped out of the way off some burning debris that fell from the ceiling, crushing several displays in its wake.

As he ran, I wittinessed the utter calamity around us. Magnemites lay strewn about the floor in several states of unconsciousness underneath piles of rubble, while the pangoro held both the aegislash and bisharp over his shoulders and ran out the massive hole in the wall created by the police, while the gardevoir was nowhere to be seen.

Just as we got to the exit of the room, a bolt of lightning narrowly missed us, originating from that magnemite with the growlithe; who was pinned under debris.

" _You're not getting away!"_ The magnetic ball shouted as we turned the corner and ran past the statue of Arceus and Algaloe. " _Daaaamnnn youuuuuu!"_

The officer's voice echoed throughout the building as we ran out the ruined front door of the library.

The familiar humidity of Felicity Creek washed over me, followed by heavy rain pouring over us, soaking us almost immediately. Bloody rain...

I took a quick glance back at the ivory tower behind me. One of the walls had collapsed, revealing smoke cascading out into the intense precipitation. I just stared at the intense damage dealt to the building as Matt made some distance between us and the library. He ran across the short bridge, into the large park island, running to a familiar canopy of green trees that had started migrating away from this city.

"Firmis!" The riolu huffed, making his way through the huge legs of the torterra herd, eventually stumbled into our friend.

"Oh? Why if it isn't Matt and Hazel! Lovely weather isn't it?"

"Uh...yeah...nice…" the canine coughed while getting soaked, shooting occasional glances at the large tower behind us that was now swarming with practically the entire police force surrounding around the structure. "H-hey, do you have room for two up there?"

He wasn't seriously suggesting…?

Firmis scratched his chin thoughtfully with a vine, before smiling lightly at us.

"Of course! Two drifters eh? Off to see the world? Hop on!"

Bollocks...this was a right mess. That officer saw me with Matt...I'd probably be considered an accomplice or a kidnapping victim...bollocks. Today was not my day...bloody hell Matt…

Before I could say anything, a vine wrapped around Matt's waist and picked us both up and placed us on his forest of a back. His vine ruffled Matt's head fur eliciting a nervous chuckle from him, before the large appendage moved onto my head and did the same before it retracted.

"Oh! And could you please hold my boy Scamp for me? He's a bit rowdy at the moment…"

Matt crouched and let me down onto the grassy back of Firmis. When the torterra herd started to move, Matt let out a sigh of relief, wiped his brow and smiled at me warmly.

"We're safe now! You alright?"

Alright?

_Alright?!_

What was this bastard thinking?! Dragging me into this situation?! He _could've_ just dropped the knife and tried to speak to the police, but _nooooooooo_ , he just blindly ran into this! I needed to give him a piece of my mind!

I marched over to him, breathing heavily. He stared at me with a confused expression and a tilted head. I stood on my hinds and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Oh...going in for another hug—?" He was about to place his arms around my back, but with my other paw I slapped him across the face, which recoiled it to the side. He froze and hovered a paw over his cheek with his mouth hanging open.

His eyes slowly met mine, the normally gentle and friendly gaze was replaced by sheer confusion, as well as a hint of anger and sadness.

"What did...I…" He sputtered, his eyes refusing to break contact with mine, even when I withdrew from him and took a few steps back. "W-why did you…what's your problem?!"

" _My problem?!"_ I hissed at him, causing him to physically flinch. " _You're the one with a problem!_ Are you thinking with something other than your brain?! I dunno what compelled you to carry onto that bloody knife, but look where it's gotten us. We're bloody fugitives now!"

"But...I...you..." he practically whimpered. "you're safe now…"

"Yeah, until we have the entire police force of the east descending upon us. What then Matthew? Because we just helped trash a national landmark, so they're not going to be too happy! So unless you can use your big puppy eyes to dissuade them, we're done for!"

Still holding his cheek, the sadness in his eyes started to fade, slowly changing into anger as he stared at his feet, probably searching for a comeback. He scanned me over before grunting quietly and turning away from me in defeat, walking over to a nearby bush under the tree upon Firmis' back and retrieving little Scamp and sitting down with the infant turtwig resting on his lap, while taking cover from the rain under the tree.

"Hmph." I reached up to adjust my glasses, only to remember that they were broken. I removed my reading apparatus from my bag, shivering as I held the broken blue metal in my paw. Oh, no…those were my favourite pair...I sighed and placed them back where they belonged: next to a red pair and green pair of specs. "B-bugger…"

I felt tears already stinging at my eyes. What was I to do?! Where was I to go?! T-that bastard Matt! He just ruined my one chance at figuring anything out...of course he did...he was supposedly a " _human"_ after all. They had a habit of fucking things up beyond belief. No wonder why they went missing...I let a few tears fall as I pulled out my diary, along with the green specs.

No...just keep it together Hazel...this'll work out...this'll work out…

Before I wrote anything however, a question popped up in my mind. I traversed to the front of Firmis' body, lightly stepping down onto his head and rested, not caring about the rain pouring on me. I lay down upon his head and sighed.

"Firmis?"

"What is it my child?"

With another sigh I responded, "Where is your herd migrating to anyways?"

"I dunno truthfully...I'm not the leader of this here herd...but my hunch is telling me that we're gonna pass by Mount Cosma…"

_Mount bloody Cosma?! That was ages away!_

In fact, it's farther away from this city than that path I met Matt...

Argh...this was a right mess I had gotten myself into…I had to stay strong and persevere...like mummy told me to…

_Mummy..._

"Hazel…? You alright up there?" Firmis' gravelly voice broke me out of my moping state. "You went kinda quiet 'lil lady…"

"I-I'm fine! I promise!" I faked a big smile. "I was just thinking about all of the rumours and stuff about that mountain! H-heh!"

"Mmhmm...I've seen that place more times than I'd like to...gives me the heebie jeebies...come to think of it that place hasn't changed over the centuries…" he shuddered, which didn't feel too dissimilar to that pangoro's earthquake earlier.

I suppose that's one place I haven't visited yet...just keep your head up Hazel, and you'll make it...it'll all work out...eventually…

But still...those supposed knights that attacked us…who were they? Why did they attack us? This was all very mind boggling. Lord Starmie...have I heard this name before…?

"Still, lil' eevee, I think you should probably take shelter under my oak...I don't want you catching a cold or anything like that little one…" the torterra suggested, his deep voice full of concern.

I only just now realised how soaked I was, practically to the bone. Shivers shot throughout my entire body as I looked back at the tree, yearning for the shelter.

"Y-you're right Fi-Firmis...I really should take shelter…and um...thank you for having us…" I squeaked, before climbing up onto his back.

"Mmhmm, any time lil lady."

I hastily scurried across his back, eventually taking cover from the torrential rain under the massive tree that called Firmis' back home, sitting in between two roots and huffing because of how close I was to _him_.

I shot a quick glance at the riolu, who coldly stared back at me, his eyes full of anger. It would've been almost scary, if he wasn't cradling the baby turtwig like...well, a baby. The young canine rolled his eyes at me and stared down at Scamp, his face softening somewhat as he rocked the tiny creature gently in his arms.

I shook my entire body to dry myself after unclipping my bag, spraying everything around me with rainwater. Even Matt. I could've sworn that he growled at me.

I adjusted my glasses once again and looked down at my diary flipping it open and searching for a blank page. But I froze upon opening a page marked: ' _7/10/753.'_ Three days ago. That's when I met Matt...Underneath the date was an unfinished sketch of the riolu and I, both smiling widely. Oh...oh yeah...I forgot about that...I wanted to rub him out of the picture but...it was my best drawing of a riolu to date…

I sighed in defeat, refusing to erase the doodle.

" _That gardevoir's right...you are unhealthily obsessed with riolus…I mean, just look at the drawing pages in your diaries...yes, even THAT page."_ I tried to rationalise my obsession, but my attraction to the emanation pokemon proved too strong to shake.

Curse my hormones...why did he have to be a riolu?! One who is also a human?!Thanks Arceus. Just throw my two favourite things into one body...Thanks, no really... _thanks._

Giving the drawing one last glance, I slammed the book shut and reached into my bag, withdrew my blanket and threw it over my body and made a makeshift nest or burrow, exhaustion finally catching up with me. My body ached, my head was thumping and I felt violated because of gardevoir revealing my _most_ personal secret; especially in front of a riolu. I desperately needed sleep.

I poked my head out from my cozy spot and got one last look at Felicity Creek in all of its beauty. We crossed a large bridge leading westward into the dense jungle, away from the boardwalk city. The Sapphire Library had a massive pillar of smoke rising up into the rainy sky, accompanied by police spotlights scanning the building as onlookers watched the damaged landmark in horror.

A visceral silence loomed over me as I stared blankly into space, my eyes refusing to stay open any longer.

Tomorrow was another day.

At least Mount Cosma could be an interesting subject to write about, being the tallest mountain on Gaia...

* * *

**Sir Gardevoir**

_1 hour later…_

_Absolutely brilliant!_

_I'm absolutely brilliant!_

Ahaha...Gardy Gardy Garde...this has got to be your most spectacular scheme yet!

Even this rather droll police station office or the memory of that grizzly sight in the interloper's mind wasn't enough to dissuade my giddiness as I fidgeted about in my seat. Granted, my beautifully slender leg still burned in pain thanks to that little foxy girl, but I'd be fine.

I examined the detective's cramped office for a moment. Hmm, rather untidy...this place could use a good dusting. Maybe some reorganisation. Oh! Perhaps some—

The sound of a door clicking open behind me snapped me back into my victim supreme mode. I hunched over, pathetically pulling this blanket over my shoulders and grabbing my biceps. I even started to shiver, just for effect.

A rather glum looking magnemite floated into the room, his once shiny chassis now all dull and full of dents. In his left magnet, he held a cup of steaming brown liquid that just smelt absolutely divine.

"Here you go...hot chocolate, just like you asked for right?" He handed it over to me, taking a seat…? Floating. He was floating above his seat.

"O-of course detective…" I shot a quick glance at his fine wooden desk, which held a shiny nameplate. "...Booker...I—there's extra cinnamon in this right?"

"Yes…?"

"Ah, many thanks my floaty friend. Erm...where was I…? Oh yes!" I clicked my fingers, before placing the back of my hand on my forehead. "What a horrible day I've had today! First my dear friend shorty is _brutally_ assaulted by that nasty blue mutt...then his attack fox almost rips my leg clean off! Can you believe it? And then that big pangoro decides to smash up the museum like a brute!"

"Yeah…that was a real disaster in there... I don't even _want_ to know how much that fiasco costed…" The metallic sphere closed his eye and shuddered, before reopening it and staring at me with a tired expression. "Alright Gardevoir. You said you can help us with this fine mess...that true?"

I nodded at him.

"Of course! Believe it or not, I have about twenty years worth of law work under my belt," I smirked at him coyly, edging towards the desk and placing my mug down. From one of the bags attached to my belt, I presented a very ornate golden badge with a dragon engraved on it. "Prosecutor of her majesty Queen Maria the second's courtrooms."

An impressed whistle somehow came from Booker as he got a close look at it.

"Wow. Bigwig huh? How is the Western Reach anyway?"

I shrugged casually. "If you enjoy rain that isn't lukewarm, be my guest."

"Ugh...I'll pass," He shuddered, before starting to write down his crime documents. "Anyway, for what reason are you aiding us? It's not everyday we have people volunteering to help us...what gives?"

"I...let's just say, that there's something...concerning, about this little riolu, you might say. Something about his identity that could shake the very foundation of the entire Cosmic Continent…" I lounged back on my chair and folded my arms.

Booker's eye tightened as he shot a skeptical look at me. "His...identity…?"

"Mmhmm. His identity. This fact is so mind blowing it just _has_ to be published! The tabloids would be all over that story like a venomoth to the brightest of lights! You see...that riolu is a human being..."

"No...that's impossible...a _human?!_ Like from all those years ago?!"

"Correctamundo!"

"Th-this is ludicrous! A human in a Pokemon's body...this sounds like a kids book...I need a second...are you being truthful? How do you know this?!"

"I couldn't help but peer into his mind of course," I shrugged. "And what I saw? Humans. Lots of them. Fighting. Don't ask why I was poking around in the first place."

"This can't be real...I must be dreaming!"

"Reality is stranger than fiction my dear friend…" I had this idiot practically wrapped around my finger. "It's just how you choose to perceive it. Simple. Now. Onto more pressing matters…let's discuss your rewards for aiding me...imagine. The fame and the fortune you and your men would gain in succeeding in capturing a real life human-turned-riolu! You'd be heroes!"

His eye seemed to brighten up at the mere mention of heroism. Bingo. Just the reaction I wanted.

"H-heroes you say? Like...people would stop us for our autographs?"

I simply nodded at him. The detective was quiet for a moment, which he spent staring at his document with a blank expression, his eye slowly shooting between me and the paper.

"Alright gardevoir, I—"

"Please. Call me Gabriel. Not Gabe though. _Especially_ not Gabe."

"Well, alright then Gabriel. I think we can work together!" His eye filled with a childlike glee as he offered me a magnet, which I gladly took and started shaking gently.

"Likewise, Booker."

We nodded at each other and made ourselves comfortable in our chairs.

"So, detective, what's our first plan of action? How do we go about this...situation?" I asked in between sips of my warm drink. "Because I'm not too familiar with the inner machinations of the Eastern Reach's whole law scene…"

"First we're gonna have to address this situation to the public…" he sighed as he started to jot things down upon his case file. How did he hold his pencil…? Hmm...fascinating. "Ugh...I suppose I can send an agent or mercenary out for the time being…Magnezone will have my hide if he finds out..."

Mercenary…? Oh my...I liked this town's style!

The floating ball was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Alright Gabriel...I'm sending a mercenary out. Target's a riolu right? Got that weird aura stuff…I think I know just the person for this—"

"I've heard enough." A sudden feminine voice rang out, causing both of us to jump and stare back at the door, where a riolu wearing a salvaged pair of tinted human glasses stood with a paw sassily placed on their hip. A riolu…? It couldn't be—

"I take it you need _my_ help again, Booky."

No...that's definitely a girl...silly me...well, that interloper was rather emotional...perhaps he _was_ a—

"How long were you there?!"

"Long enough." The riolu swaggered over to the desk, putting a lot of hip into her walk and swinging her other arm from side to side. I liked her already. She hopped up onto the desk, folding one little leg over the other and placing both paws on her lap. Her little feet couldn't even reach the floor, she was utterly adorable! "So...I guess you want me to track down a blue mutt for you, hmm?"

"Yes...are you up to this task Riley?"

Riley? How simply...unoriginal...like calling an eevee 'Eve,' ahaha…

The riolu was quiet for a moment, reaching into the depths of her _very_ puffy navy-blue scarf and retrieving a small metal circle that flipped open. From a quick glance, I saw my own beautiful reflection in the object. Clever girl, a mirror is always a fine tool to own!

"Very well," she expressed nonchalantly, quickly clapping her mirror shut and placing it back where she got it. "I'll play along with your little scavenger hunt. Just point me where to go, and I'll have your target just like that!" She snapped her fingers just for emphasis.

This one was rather...sassy. I liked her already. I reached into my bag, retrieving the blue fur of the interloper and offering it to her.

"Here you are my dear. I'm not sure how much this'll help, but I assure you it belongs to our little target," I explained as she took the strand of fur from my much larger hand and flicked her glasses onto her forehead, eyes immediately squinting as she tried to keep the light out of them. "Now. Chop chop! Time's 'a wastin!"

"Alrighty." With an unconcerned shrug, the riolu jumped down from the fine oak desk and placed the fur into her scarf. She flicked her glasses back over her eyes as she approached the exit of the office, walking with the same sassy swagger she had entered with. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and slowly looked over her shoulder and smirked back at the detective and I. "I guess I'm off. Don't you boys have _too_ much fun without me, I'll have your little riolu lickity-split. See you soon Booky…"

And with that, she was gone, off to capture that human. Excellent! That's four people now hunting him down for that lazy starfish, and I barely had to even raise a finger...ahaha, I'm nothing short of brilliant!

"Alright Booker, I'll help you with your speech," I spun around to the magnet policeman. "I _always_ know just what to say…"

_**End of chapter...** _


	7. The Luminous City

(AN) Hello again! Welcome back to PoD! 

****

Now, this chapter will be dedicated for character development for our protagonist, because I believe he has some of the least at the moment- that’s not a good thing. I hope to get this boi a character of his own.

****

But disclaimer aside, let’s begin. 

**_Chapter 7: The Luminous City_ **

* * *

 

 

**Matt**

 

_ Brr… _

 

Cold wind awoke me, along with the light tremors from Firmis’ titanic march. My eyes adjusted to the bright sun that the tree failed to block. I lay on the grassy back of the torterra, facing the great blue sky above that was completely devoid of clouds. It was rather...serene. I couldn’t help but stare. 

 

But...what has my ‘life’ as a riolu been so far? I stared upwards at a cyan paw, scanning the black pads on my palm and three digits. Why was I in this body? And who in god’s name was this ‘Lord Starmie character?’ Why was he after my hide? I was only a kid...this wasn’t fair...I just wanted to go home…I didn’t even  _ want  _ to know how long I’d last in this hellish land on my own...

 

My moment of wistful staring was interrupted by something stirring under my armpit, followed by a small head nuzzling my neck. It was Scamp! (The lack of fur was a dead giveaway) He squeaked quietly in his gentle sleep, blissfully unaware of practically anything around him. I envied how peaceful the turtwig was. Kid probably didn’t have to worry about anything in life, considering that he would be protected by this massive herd for the next...what? Thousand years, give or take.

 

I couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sleeping infant, carefully sitting up and nudging him off my body and resting him gently on his father’s back. Standing up slowly, I raised both arms above my head and stretched, letting out a surprisingly high pitched yawn while examining my surroundings. The herd navigated through an absolutely beautiful green plain that went on as far as the eye could see, paired with the clear blue sky above and an extremely large mountain peeking over the horizon directly in front of the herd, which seemed to be their destination. 

 

I took a step forward out of the cool shade of the tree, into the bright sunlight of the morning. An extremely pleasant warmth washed over me as I started to bask. Even in my dire situation, I couldn’t help but feel a calm sense of safety in the light of the sun. I closed my eyes and sighed. By the stars, this was pleasant.

 

But a high pitch squeak of a yawn broke me out of my trance. It must’ve been Scamp again, he was probably awake now. I turned around, only to see the turtwig still asleep where I left him. Strange...who made that—? Oh no…I slowly gazed over to the right of Scamp, seeing a very familiar pink blanket starting to stir. Poking out of the fabric was a long brown ear that twitched somewhat. This was then followed by a certain eevee’s small head emerging from it as well, looking around to focus her eyes. But her tired gaze slowly landed on me, her once calm face twisting into disgust at the very sight of me. Even at a distance, I heard her audibly snort and duck back into cover, before re-emerging wearing a pair of glasses. Looks like she had a spare, this set was green and rectangular, as opposed to the blue ovals of her previous pair. Guess I had to get used to this look now…

 

I felt absolutely terrible about yesterday...I should’ve just listened to her and stayed…

 

But now what? Where did I go from here? I didn’t have the slightest clue as to where I was or where anything even is in this land, and the only person who could’ve helped me hated me now…

 

I reached up and felt the cheek where she had slapped me. I could’ve handled that situation better…I sighed and turned away from the tiny fox, looking onward to the mountain that even from this distance was frighteningly tall. But something atop the silver mount caught my eye, a large structure upon its peak. It rose into the high heavens, with two objects stretching out from the sides. My curiosity piqued as I took a few small steps forward across the torterra’s back, tilting my head slightly at the strange tower standing atop the mount. What was that…?   
  
In my moment of distant staring, I was interrupted by walking straight off of Firmis’ back, landing face first on top of his head with a heavy thud. Ow…my everything...my entire body ached from what had transpired yesterday, and this fall  _ certainly  _ wasn’t helping.   
  
“Mornin’ Matt,”  The colossal tortoise casually greeted me. “Would you be surprised if I told you that you aren’t the first person to do that?” He chuckled to himself loudly.  “Anyway, could I offer you some breakfast? Well, I say offer but really those nuts just grow on me...that and they have really tough shells, so if you can crack em, be my guest!”    
  
“Do you just offer those to everyone that hitches a ride on you?” I asked him, sitting up with crossed legs.    
  
“Of course! You travelers keep the wildlife in check by eating ‘em!”  He guffawed again.”How do you think we keep our backs nice and tidy?”    
  
“I...I never would’ve thought of it that way...but no thank you, I’m—”

 

_ Rumble… _

 

That was my stomach, wasn’t it?    
  
“I think your tummy says otherwise!” He guffawed once again. ”Hop on up ’lil riolu! Should be a bush or something up there!”   
  
I bowed my head in respect for the elder, despite the fact he couldn’t see my gesture. “Thank you Firmis…But before I go, do you know anything about that mountain over there? The huge one with the thing on top.”

 

The torterra was silent for a moment, his head angling upward to the great mountain on the horizon.

 

“That…” He heavily sighed, his usually jolly voice vanishing as he stared off aloofly. “That is Mount Cosma. The tallest mountain on all of Gaia. That place just screams trouble if you ask me...if I were you, pup, I’d steer clear of that place...heck, I’d stay away from the entire area around that damn place.”   
  
“How so…?”   
  
He shook his head and sighed again. “Look at the base of the mountain…”

 

I squinted, focusing my attention downward...Oh my stars…!

 

Large silver towers stood at the base of Mount Cosma, the sunlight that shone on them made it almost blinding to even look at. It was a city by the looks of it!    
  
“It’s...It’s a city!” I chirped, my tail starting to wag like crazy. Why was I so excited? I didn’t even know! “Is it a human one? Tell me, tell me, tell me!”    
  
“Woah Nelly! Calm yourself! Quite the enthusiast aren't you?” His somber demeanor momentarily disappeared, replaced instead by his usual jolliness. “I can tell why you and ‘lil eevee are a team, heh. Anyway, you hit the nail right on the head ‘lil pup. It is indeed a human city…”    
  
A strange combination of feelings greeted me as he finished his sentence. Regret when thinking about Hazel, excitement in the confirmation about the owners of the city and a foreboding sense of dread about the how any potential humans would react to seeing me in this...form…

 

No...stay focused Matthew! My dad said to never yield...I hope I could live up to his advice...wherever he could be…

 

I shook my head. No! No time to mope! I had to get to that city!   
  


“Firmis?” I timidly asked the giant tortoise; who gave me a quiet ‘Hmm?’ “W-when’s the next time we’re stopping?”   
  
The father was silent for quite some time, before letting out the largest sigh I’ve heard yet and lightly shook his head.    
  
“There’s no convincing you otherwise, is there…? Well, I’m not gonna stop you from going there riolu pup, if it’s what your heart desires...but I’d  _ heavily  _ recommend you not go there…” Firmis suggested. “Humans—heck, anything relating to them is just bad news, even if the matriarch says otherwise…but...we’ll be stopping in a couple of hours...if you want...”

 

That stung me to my core...I was just starting to realize how isolated I was in this world...I had nothing...absolutely nothing...other than this knife and my name...I wanted to go home...I had to persevere...I had to…   
  
“I...I will…”

 

“So...what about the eevee? You taking her with you?” He asked. Hazel...what would I do about her? I shot a glance backward to the base of the tree, where the eevee lay curled up in a ball on top of her blanket, still sleeping by the looks of it. I bit my lip. She was here...because of me...and she hated me...I...I didn’t think she’d want to speak to me anymore... 

 

“Matt? You ok?”

 

“O-oh! Yeah...I’m fine...I...Hazel and I...we decided to split ways last night…”

 

“Oh...That’s a darn shame...I take it ya’ll weren’t a…erm…a... _ couple _ couple?”

 

I instinctively reached up and grabbed my aura tendrils, tugging on them in embarrassment. 

 

“N-no! We weren’t!” I choked. Why did everyone just assume we were a thing?! “I-I’ve only known her for three days!”

 

“Oh...Sorry, pup...I just sorta…sorta...uh...” the torterra stammered, using a vine to rub the top of his head, which wasn't too far away from me. “...my bad…it’s just a lot of two person teams hitch rides on my back...I just sometimes jump to these funny conclusions...last team was a mudkip and charmander I believe...they were pretty cute…”

 

“I-it’s alright Firmis…but...a charmander?” I asked with a subtle smile growing on my muzzle. “How didn’t he uh...burn you...y’know? With his tail?”

 

“Us torterra are a hardy bunch. We don’t burn to the smallest of embers.” His voice displayed a clear, powerful pride in his species. “That, and the charmander was aware of his flaming butt and sat on the rocks on my back. Nice kid. Even if he  _ did  _ bicker with his friend a lot…” 

 

“You meet quite the characters huh?” I joked before my mood soured when I thought of my ‘travel buddy.’ I shook my head once more and sighed.    
  
I had to leave her.

 

My own rashness had gotten her into this mess, and I wasn’t prepared to hurt her or get her into any more trouble than I already have. With one last sigh, I stood up in search for sustenance...

* * *

 

 

 

The sun hung directly overhead, signaling that noon had come. The herd had stopped near a river for a drink, while I prepared to leave for that city.

 

I sat with a handful of walnuts and berries in each paw, trying to find out where on earth I could store these. There had to be somewhere...gosh darn it! I was near certain that these blue things on my waist were shorts/pants! They had to be! They didn’t make sense otherwise! Well...I wasn’t willing to go au naturel in front of this entire herd and Hazel just to find out! Maybe when I was alone I could attempt to...strip…No! Keep it together Matthew! Whether or not you can get naked is  _ far  _ from your greatest concern right now!

 

Shaking my odd thoughts of nudism aside, I placed my assortment of food on the ground below and walked over to Hazel; who was surprisingly still fast asleep, laying on her side with her glasses hanging half off her face and snoring gently. I gave a small, yet sad smile to the eevee who was apparently quite the heavy sleeper. I properly adjusted her glasses up and moved to her bag, searching through it until I found a pencil and a loose piece of paper that wasn’t absolutely covered in notes or doodles. I sat down and started to write, even despite the poor handwriting my three digits gave me. 

 

_ “Hazel. I don’t know if I have the courage to say goodbye to you in person, all things considered. But I’m writing this because I’m sorry. I truly am. What compelled me to run in such a stupid manner is beyond me. It was even worse because I refused to listen to what you said. I guess I was a bit short-sighted in that regard.”  _ I paused, watching as the paper soaked in a tear that I let fall upon it. But regardless...I had to continue.  _ “I understand if you no longer wish to associate with me anymore. But, you’ll always be my friend, (even if we barely knew each other) and it pains me to say goodbye. But I have to. Goodbye, Hazel. -Matthew J. Wolfe.” _

 

‘J?’ Where did that come from...? Whatever...It didn’t matter…

 

I stood up into a kneeling position, folding my note and placing it under her paw for when she woke up. 

 

I gave her one last smile and turned away from her, knowing it would be the last time I’d ever see the eevee, letting my waterworks leak even further. Every part of my being didn’t want to leave her, but I had to. But a gentle biting feeling on my ankle stopped me in my tracks, followed by a high pitched whine. I stared down, only to see Scamp pulling on my leg gently. I sighed and pulled away from him and knelt down. I scooped the (surprisingly heavy) turtwig up in my paws, walking over to the sleeping eevee and placing him down on the same blanket and patted him on the head. He let out another high pitched whine as I turned to leave again. 

 

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Scamp staring at me with big sad eyes. Oh for heaven's...he was so...cute!   
  
“Aww...C’mon Scamp...don’t look at me like that…you’re just making me feel guilty...”

 

I had to physically force myself away from the infant as I picked up only what I could from the pile I had left. I didn't want to even attempt to carry it all. Slinging it under one arm, I hopped off of Firmis’ back, onto the grassy ground below. I navigated around to the edge of the river, where Firmis stood with his head down to the water, drinking with a very large tongue. His right eye slowly opened as it slowly looked at me as I approached, his expression that of a lukewarm smile.    
  
“Ah...I...I suppose it’s time for us to part ways then Matt?” 

 

“Looks like it,” I sighed, taking a few steps closer to him. “thank you for the ride. I really appreciate it.” 

 

“It was my pleasure ‘lil pup—” He cut himself off as I stood up on tiptoes, reaching up and hugging the side of the torterra’s face in gratitude for how generous he was to Hazel and I. While likely surprised, he lightly chuckled, wrapping a vine around my back and returned the hug as best he could. Though we only hugged for a brief moment, it genuinely warmed my heart that at least one person enjoyed my company. “Aww...you’re too kind…”

 

“But can you please promise me one thing Firmis?”

 

“Hmm?” He tilted his head. “What would that be?”

 

“Just please take care of Hazel for as long as she travels with you...please?” 

 

“You have my word ‘lil pup.” He nodded at me with a solemn expression. “Us torterra  _ never  _ break our promises…”

 

“Thank you Firmis…”

 

“Matt. If you’re ever alone or need help...follow this river, my child...The Riverbend Herd will always be there for you. Tell them ‘ol Firmis said so.” He smiled warmly at me as we broke our brief hug. He ruffled my head fur with a vine one last time. “I wish you luck on the road ahead, my child…”

 

“Thank you for everything...I guess I’ll see you later...”

 

We exchanged one last nod before I started navigating my way through the herd, knife, and food in hand. After a few minutes of walking under the legs of the torterra, I eventually reached the edge of the congregation. I stood facing the endless green plain, staring at the great mountain with the city at its base. I took in a large gulp of air. This is where my journey began now. I started marching towards the impossibly tall mountain, pushing my thoughts about Hazel and those four assassins behind me. I hoped to whatever god that the city could provide some answers about who  _ I  _ was. With one last hesitant look back towards the safe gathering of pokemon, I started my journey to the city and whatever answers it could hold...

 

_ Goodbye Hazel… _

* * *

 

 

 

After about an hour of traversing the great plain, I eventually stumbled across a large dark grey road with four sets of yellow lines running across. Dotting the large, yet desolated road was broken down vehicles in several states of disrepair. Bingo. This was definitely a human-built road; it also conveniently led to where I was going. Things were definitely looking up for me... 

 

I walked atop the dividing line, staring up at the endless azure sky above. Still as beautiful as it was earlier—ow!    
  
In my moment of distraction, I had somehow managed to bump into a much smaller, two-wheeled vehicle that blocked my path. Who parked this here…? Never mind…

 

But upon closer inspection, the storage compartment had something poking out of it! I carefully opened the blue motorbike’s trunk, revealing an article of clothing! It was a sleek black pair of motorbike goggles! Nice! My tail started wagging again as I hastily took the eyewear in my paws. I bet I’d look cool in these! How do I adjust these? Could I even wear them? I carefully put them over my eyes, the black tinting of the lenses dimming the bright sun. Aha! They fit on top of my muzzle quite snuggly! I played around with the elastic that went around my head, adjusting it so it wouldn't be too tight or loose, while also making sure they didn’t catch on my ears or aura appendages. Shame there was no mirror around…unless…   
  
I slowly looked just above the handlebars of the motorbike. Lo and behold: a set of rear view mirrors. I was an idiot...quietly chuckling to myself, I wiped the dusty mirror clean with my forearm and admired myself. They actually fit alright! Stylish too. Might just keep ‘em.    
  
“H-heh...lookin’ good Matt…” I giggled quietly, before gazing to the rest of the broken down highway. Then a thought hit me.

 

What if there was more cool stuff in the rest of these vehicles? I pushed my goggles up into my forehead and rubbed my chin while staring at all the abandoned cars and trucks nearby. The original owners  _ weren’t  _ using them after all…

* * *

 

 

My search was mostly fruitless until I came across a gray car that took quite a bit of force to open. It was as devoid of useful items as the other ones, save for a camouflage rucksack that looks like it has seen its fair share of better days laying in the back seat. I opened it up and emptied its contents onto the seat. Looked to be a bunch of school supplies...I shuddered as I saw what appeared to be an ID of whoever owned this bag. I tried to find the owner’s name, but it was far too faded and old to even properly decipher. What  _ happened  _ to humanity? 

Shaking these awful thoughts aside, I placed my food and knife in the rucksack, wearing it around my back. It was a tad...large...for me….but it’ll do I suppose…

 

Now that I was fully accessorized, I was ready to hit the road again…

 

I began to move across the road again, my backpack chafing against my backward-facing ankles…gosh darn it...

 

Here I was at last. The entrance to the city. A large blue rhombus shaped sign overshadowed the dilapidated road, with large lettering underneath stating the name of the city:

 

_ “Welcome to Vigrade, The Luminous City! Home of Algaloe, Bastion of Humanity!” _

 

The once clear blue sky was slowly being taken over by a sheet of gray clouds, a subtle chill piercing my fur. 

 

Even from a considerable distance from the city center, I could still clearly see the titanic steel buildings that shot up into the high heavens, paired with equally as massive amounts of vines and plant life that dominated the city. I looked upwards to the mountain. It completely dwarfed the settlement. But I could now clearly make out what stood atop Gaia’s tallest peak; a frighteningly large golden statue of a robed human. Their arms were spread outwards like wings and their hooded head was tilted upward to face the sky. It was an absolutely beautiful sight! I wish I could get a closer look at the statue of the mysterious being, but I wasn’t brave (or stupid) enough to try and scale that beast of a mountain. Maybe if I had the right gear or supplies...

 

The great human city stood utterly silent in the now chilly afternoon. The urban streets were desolate and overgrown, with utterly no signs of human life anywhere to be seen. This wasn’t a good sign.

 

“H-hello?!” I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the empty street. No response. “Hellooooooo?! Um...i-if anyone is out there...I could really use your assistance!”

 

…

 

Still no response.  

 

Of course there wouldn't be.

 

The only inhabitants I even saw, was the occasional flock of wild pidove: All of which flew away from me as I got close.

I loudly groaned and kicked a pebble away, crossing my arms while starting to huff. Did I seriously just come here for nothing?! M-maybe I should just head back… I missed Firmis already…

 

I closed my eyes and started shaking, grabbing my biceps and squeezing them...what would I do now…? I had no idea…I guess I could just explore the city some more...it’s all I could do...

 

I exhaled heavily, looking for anywhere that caught my attention…

 

I walked through the empty streets for a short amount of time, making sure to call out for any humans occasionally. All attempts ended up with my voice echoing the cityscape, followed only by a harsh silence that only furthered my feelings of immense isolation and loneliness. Which was then subsequently followed by even more pidove flying away...rats with wings... This was not my day…But as I started to sink deeper and deeper into this pit of sadness, a rather broken and static sounding intercom sounded, immediately catching my attention. The voice spoke in a somewhat distorted feminine voice.

 

_ “C-c-c-come drop by-by-by V-mart! The number—”  _  The voice suddenly cut out, which gave me a fright. This was then followed by the voice sounding again, giving me another fright! This town…  _ “-number one superstore in all of V-V-Vigrade! Fresh-fresh food! Latest Fash-fashion! All at superbly low prices! Vmart! For all your shopping needs! (Located in district 3)”  _

 

The advertisement ended itself with a cute jingle, leaving me standing in silence and with the sudden urge to visit the superstore. If anywhere had supplies; or maybe even humans, it’d probably be there! Now where on earth was this so-called ‘District 3?’ No, scratch that—where the hell was  _ I _ ? I looked around my surroundings for any street sign that could lead me to where I wanted to go. Peering at a nearby sign, I read the names on the green pieces of triangular metal.

 

Northern Boulevard...Algaloe Street...Luminary Place…

 

Ok, that was just...unhelpful...what district was I in?! 

 

I huffed and began walking in a random direction. Hopefully, I could find something of use…

 

After another god knows how long amount of time spent walking, I eventually came across a small building with a sign above the door that read “train station.” Bingo! 

 

Pushing open the squeaky glass doors, I made my way into the cozy rectangular wooden room, scanning the area for any maps or directions. Before moving to the main desk, however, something in the corner of my vision caught my eye: a blue light. Shifting my attention over to it, I studied the light’s source. It was a rectangular machine standing tall against the wall. It was sleek and blue with several buttons and lights on its smooth surface. Also printed on the front was curved white writing that said: ‘V-Cola!’

 

I was immediately parched.

 

I approached the vending machine, placing both paws on its surface and looking for instructions; instructions that came in the form of a somewhat peeled sticker above the buttons. But before I was barely even halfway through the first word, I came to a sudden realization. I had no money for a soda. Darn. I hopelessly pressed the buttons for a moment, before dropping my shoulders and sighing. I scanned my surroundings for a second, at all the empty metal seats, before I had the urge to kick the side of the beverage dispensing unit. My foot and the side of the machine quickly met, sending painful vibrations throughout my paw.

 

_ “Owowowow…”  _ I whined as I held my foot in pain with both paws, trying desperately to keep balance with the other. Why did I do that?! I was an idiot…but contrary to my thoughts, the device yielded absolutely nothing...darn...I just wasted my time AND hurt my foot...what an adventure...with a now soured mood, I turned away from that piece of garbage on the wall and made my way to the main desk that was built into a wall, standing on my very tiptoes to reach its wooden surface. Nothing of use on top...I tried to climb up and investigate the counter, but a window separated the small office and the waiting room, blocking access to the room completely. “Darn…there has to be another way in...”

 

Aha! A little to the left of the desk was a staff only door leading into the office. As soon as I pulled the handle of the old door, an awful screech sounded, followed shortly by the door falling completely off its hinges inward to the room and leaving me just standing there with a door handle in my paw. I stood frozen for a second, baffled at what just happened. 

 

“O-okay…” I stuttered, dropping the handle to tiled floor with an echoing clack. 

 

Walking over the fallen door, I made my way into the cramped office, immediately walking to the other side of the window. After dropping my rucksack to the floor, I jumped up onto the chair and sat down. My feet dangled off the edge, not even touching the floor. I kept forgetting how tiny I was...with the thoughts of my own smallness, I started searching through the drawers. Most of them were completely empty, save for the odd pen or train schedule, none of which were of any real use to me at the moment. But my search was all but pointless, as I found a tourist’s map! Bingo.   
  
I unfolded the map and skimmed over the semicircular city layout just south of the mountain. Everything was neatly split into 5 districts, (Industrial, residential, commercial, government and religious) all conveniently equal sizes. I glanced up at a handy map on the wall, seeing that I was in the residential district, that thankfully was right nearby the commercial. Why I was so hellbent on going to that superstore was beyond me. Maybe I was just a sucker for advertisement. Whatever the case, I had to get there immediately.

 

I jumped onto the floor and began moving again, on my journey to V-Mart...though thinking about it...could I find my old home here? It was an interesting thought...but I needed to find supplies here first, I did not want to starve—

 

_ Grumble… _

 

Speak of the devil...

* * *

 

 

Even with this map, this city was an utter nightmare to navigate! I stood in the center of a small, overgrown park while chewing on a walnut trying to figure out where I was going, but to no avail. I was still in the residential area, that was for sure. I had no idea how my kind could even find the way in this hellish maze of towering buildings and identical streets. Was I just bad at navigating…?    
  


Argh...this was getting tedious now…

 

As I reached into my bag to pull out another tasty walnut or two, a droplet of water fell on my nose, originating from the sky. Son of a…

 

The first drop was shortly followed by another, then another. It was raining. I couldn’t escape this infernal weather, could I? I hastily shoved the map in my bag to save it from getting soggy. I hastily scoped out the area for shelter, while also shielding myself from rain by holding my rucksack over my head. My eyes eventually landed on a tall metal box with windows on all sides that stood by a path in the hilly park. I quickly jogged over while getting soaked from the light drizzle and opened a door on the front of the odd booth, ducking down into cover.

 

I was glad to be free of the rain as I dropped my bag, shutting the door behind me and leaning against the back wall. I stood there for a moment, shutting my eyes and listening to the somewhat soothing pitter-patter of the rain hitting the windows. A sigh escaped my lips as I opened my eyes and looked around the booth. Slightly above me was a machine of some kind built into the wall, with some sort of shelf underneath that had a hefty looking book stored on it. Pulling said book down, it revealed itself as a phonebook! This must have been a phone booth then!    
  
I held the Vigrade phonebook in both paws, a sudden idea coming to mind.

 

I started flipping through the pages of the book, skimming through pages looking for the ”W” page. After a considerable amount of time turning and scanning pages, I eventually reached the one that I wanted.    
  
“Ah...Wolfe…” I whispered, sitting down on top of my backpack with crossed legs and the book resting on my lap. “Adio...Alex...Anna...Arin...yada yada...oh! James Wolfe! Residential district, Lunar street, tower 4, 3rd-floor room 7…”   
  
Yikes, what a mouthful…

 

I tore out the page and placed it inside the bag with my food, standing up and walking over to a window, placing my right paw on the cool glass. I stared at the rainy city for a moment of calmness, the sounds of the rain and the wind easing the tension I felt both mentally and physically. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead up against the glass and sighing quietly. I hoped to the high heavens that I could find something, anything that could offer some clues as to who ‘Matthew J Wolfe’ was. 

 

Then another random thought assaulted me. A thought; regarding a certain eevee.    
  
“ _ Hazel _ …” I silently whimpered, remembering the first person I met in this horrible world. Regret started filling my system as I started shivering profusely. I missed her…I wish I could take everything that happened at that damn museum back. I really wish I could...I clenched my fists and felt tears welling up in my eyes. Crying again Matt…?  _ “I-I’m sorry…” _

 

…

 

What would my dad do in this situation…?    
  
He...he’d stay strong and never give up...I...I was his son...I  _ had  _ to be strong! 

 

Even despite my optimistic thoughts, I still couldn’t help but continue to cry.

 

Inhaling heavily, I stood up, taking my bag up with me. I stood at the glass door, watching rainwater trickle down the window. I had to move. I knew where I was going. I wouldn’t let anything stop me…

* * *

 

The downpour continued as I stood in the empty parking lot of a large shiny building. Its architecture was that of a harsh, angular chrome dome with entire walls of (mostly broken) windows. Atop the hideous structure was a large pole with an icon of the sun on top, decorated with a large letter ‘V.’

 

It must’ve been the V-Mart I was looking for.

 

Rain pounded upon the ground and the building, thoroughly soaking everything in the immediate area. Myself included. My poor fur was heavy with moisture, succeeding in weighing me down significantly. Even despite the...less than aesthetically pleasing...design of the building, I needed the shelter. I scurried across the large parking area as fast as I could, reaching the door. Overhead I heard the booming of thunder echoing in the distance. Chills shot down my spine as I forced the sliding glass door aside and ran inside the superstore, closing the door behind me and huffing. 

 

I stared out to the city from behind the glass, watching in dread as the rain only seemed to intensify, with the once light grey clouds becoming a dark shade of slate. Every time I heard the distinct crash of thunder, my body jumped in fright, causing to quiver somewhat.    
  
G-guess I didn’t like thunder then... 

 

I gulped and turned around to the rest of the store. There was very little light to even speak of, and water leaked from the ceiling and windows, creating large puddles everywhere. The aisles stood empty and overgrown. The whole interior was completely dilapidated and in several states of abandonment. This was not looking good for me…

 

I looked at the bleak superstore, then back to the outside behind me. The rain was all but going away, as it just seemed to pound and pound upon the building, echoing all throughout the silent ruin. What did I do from here…? What did I-?

 

_ Boom! _

 

Agh! I let out an embarrassingly high pitched shriek, made myself as small as possible and pulled my Aura Tendrils over my eyes as lightning struck far off into the distance. G-gah... _ l-lightning too?!  _ C-come on…I sat there in my curled up ball, wrapping my tail around my body, refusing to even open my eyes. Why….why did it have to be lightning…? I shivered as I opened one eye and pulled the tendril from over it. My attention hastily shifted upward to the dome-shaped window above. I focused on the large pole-like sign above...it...it looked like metal! Th-there was nothing to be afraid of then! Lightning was attracted to metal...so I was safe...down here…

 

With the somewhat reassuring thought in my head, I slowly stood up and grabbed my biceps, squeezing on them. I took a deep breath and carefully started moving forward, towards the food aisles. 

 

The fruit aisles were unsurprisingly empty...typical…

 

The tiled floor was cold on my bare feet as I explored aisle after aisle of empty shelves and displays, my search becoming more and more fruitless as I continued my expedition through the store.   
  
Fruit section: Nothing.

  
Vegetable section: Nada.

 

Bakery…? As if It  _ would  _ have anything…

 

I let out a heavy sigh and slumped down on a ruined, but still perfectly comfortable cushioned stool. I rested my head in my paws and closed my eyes. This adventure has been a disaster so far. No food found, no decent supplies, and to top it all off-

 

_ Boom! _

 

“Eek!” I shrieked again, curling into a ball once more “S-stupid l-l-l-lightning…” 

 

As if it heard me, the sound of it striking again sounded, sending another jolt of fear down my spine as I tried to hide as best I could. N-no fair...that was just plain dirty…

 

I carefully looked around, until my eyes landed on a hanging sign that read “Fashion.” 

 

Fashion…? That sounded...pretty cool…

 

A sudden feeling of excitement coursed through my body as I jumped off of the chair and walked over to the section. Mannequins and large pictures of humans wearing the clothes decorated the now wooden section of the V-Mart. The aisles around me were surprisingly filled with all sorts of old human fashion; shoes, shirts, trousers etc. All colored only from light blue to pure white. Nothing else.

 

I stopped at a large mirror built into the wall (likely for humans to see if the clothes fit) and just stared at myself. I frowned at the riolu in the reflection. His cyan/gray fur was messy, with dried sweat giving it on obviously rough texture, and his light brown eyes were heavy and bloodshot from crying. Around his right arm was a neat bandage that had dried in blood spattering the once pure white. I moved closer to it and placed a paw on the cold surface, with the riolu mimicking my simple action. This wasn’t me...it would never be Matthew Wolfe.  _ Never _ . 

 

I shook my head and turned from my reflection, staring at all the clothes around me. At least all of these pieces of fashion were making me feel something positive…With a sigh, I picked up a random shirt decorated with a large blue rhombus on the chest from a coat hanger and held it over my body in front of the mirror. It was far too large for me. Strange...it was only a medium though...How small  _ was  _ I…? 

Regardless, I dropped my bag and put the large article of clothing over my body. It came down to just below my hips. It was baggy, loose and kept slipping off my very narrow shoulders. This was useless...and upon second glance... _ definitely  _ not my style...maybe a darker color would suit me better... 

 

I pulled the shirt over my head and tossed it aside, almost immediately feeling overwhelming guilt after doing so. I immediately picked it up and placed it where it was, only to then realize that this store was completely abandoned…

 

_ Abandoned… _

 

S-still no humans…where were they…?

 

I sharply inhaled, calling out in vain once again.

 

“ _ H-hello _ ?!  _ Is anybody there?!”  _ My voice echoed through the entire building multiple times, before fading into nothingness.  _ P-please…” _

 

...

 

Nothing…

 

Humans...they won't truly all dead... _ were they…?  _

 

A horrifying sinking feeling started to kick in as I took a few steps back away from the mirror. This couldn’t be happening...it couldn’t... _ was I the last—?! _

 

I bumped into a barrier rail that overlooked the bottom level from the floor I was on while starting to gasp for air. My legs started to buckle as I turned around and gripped the railing and overlooked an entire section of the superstore. My eyes glossed over the abandoned aisles and ruined displays, before moving upwards to the huge dome windows at the city skyline. Rain poured onto everything I could see, joined with the occasional (but still terrifying) bolt of lightning striking the chromed monoliths. 

 

I-I...I  _ had  _ to get home...immediately...   
  
But my panicked staring was interrupted as I noticed a very large and ornate stone building peeking out from between the contrasting steel ones. From what little I could see of it, I could somewhat make out what appeared to be blue stain glass windows all across its walls. I hastily pulled out my map and looked at the upper-center of the semicircular city. That was apparently ‘The Grand Cathedral of Vigrade.’ From what the information said on this map, that was the main hub of the entire city, and that all districts lead to it. Perhaps if I headed there, I could easily make it to the residential district _ — _

 

_ Boom! _

 

N-ngh...wh-why did it have to be lightning…?

 

I refused to step out there until this stupid lightning passed...just needed to wait this storm out...for now, I should see what else what other supplies I can find in this place...

 

So this place had an in-store library? That was pretty neat I guess…Though the fact that It was a library did bring up some...painful...memories…I couldn’t let these thoughts distract me.

 

The shelves were (unsurprisingly) in several states of disrepair, with books scattering the floor, most ruined by water or insects. The mere thought of touching soggy paper... _ ugh... _ but from what I saw, these books didn’t seem like the most enjoyable types...mainly cheesy young adult books. (Judging by the covers and titles at least.) Whatever the case, these just weren’t my thing. It didn’t help that most of the titles were just stupid puns of pokemon names. Utterly gag worthy... 

 

I looked around for a little while, before coming across a section dedicated to a certain book series; ‘Pokemon & U.’ From all the posters, this seemed to be all about pokemon biology and how to care for them. Interesting…

 

That gave me a thought though...I quickly scanned over the alphabetically arranged shelves, looking for a particular letter. Aha! There!    
  
I ran over to a certain shelf that was mostly untouched by nature’s wrath and started looking at all the books there.

 

“Ralts...Rattata…remoraid...ah!” I smiled as I found a sky blue book hidden in a corner, gathering dust. Pulling it out, I looked at its front cover. It depicted an utterly adorable riolu playing with a tennis ball in their paws. “Riolu and You!”

 

I decided to see what the first page had to offer, before moving out. I opened the book that had seen better days.

 

_ “Riolu. One of the most elusive pets in all of Cosma. Known for their adorable cyan fur and their big puppy eyes, these Pokemon truly make an adorable pet, and a good show of status.”  _ Humans…desired riolus as pets...for status? Was my family quite esteemed to have one? Interesting...regardless, I had to keep reading.  _ “However, they are still potentially dangerous, and can still hurt you and your family if not disciplined well. This book shall cover all of the basics for you and your furry blue friend. By the end of this book, you should be a highly qualified riolu keeper.”  _

 

Perfect! This should be useful! What were the contents like…?

 

_ “ 2-15: riolu overview, 16-30: biology, 31-50: caring for your pet. 51-60: mating habits.”  _ Note to self, avoid pages fifty-one to sixty… _ “61-80: social dynamics.” _

 

Bingo. Just what I needed. I could study this on the road...and get used to my weird body.

 

Slipping the book into my damaged rucksack, I started to move again, waiting for this stupid storm to pass over. Sifting through this abandoned building for supplies was getting monotonous now...

 

I listened anxiously to the superstore’s surroundings from atop a surprisingly well-preserved king sized bed that was very comfortable, while eating the last of my fruit and reading the first few pages of that riolu book. From the light pitter patter on the roof of this place, I could safely determine that the storm had passed...thank the stars...that lightning was scary…

 

How long was I stuck here? Two to three hours I was guessing. Too long anyway...

 

Jumping onto the floor with my bag in hand, slowly walking towards the exit, thinking of my next plan after investigating my home. This city’s emptiness was really starting to get to me. Thoughts of all the social interactions kept rushing in, especially the repeated appearances of the elder torterra and the nerdy eevee... _ especially  _ the latter…

 

Gah...j-just forget about her Matt...you’ll never see her again...move on… _ ngh _ …

 

My eyes started stinging again as tears started running down my face...I...I was crying again...the amount of it I’ve done in this damn city was too much...my head thumped with a subtle pain that often accompanied the waterworks...

 

Even as I was on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown, I had to push onward, quietly sobbing to myself as I held my biceps tightly and clenching my teeth as I navigated through the store for the exit.

 

Before I knew it, I was outside again, a somewhat harsh wind blowing on me. It was cold, sharp and unwelcoming...something I’d expect from the late winter/early spring weather I’ve observed...it...it was really irritating my neck...maybe I should go back for a scarf...as if any of ‘em would fit...this body...whatever…

 

The once dark grey clouds were thankfully much lighter now, only letting out a gentle drizzle. Thank the stars…

 

I slowly walked through the empty parking lot, thoughts about Hazel constantly bombarding me, hugging myself and shivering...what did I ever do to deserve this body...this world…?  _ What did I do…?  _ It took everything in me not to collapse and bawl my eyes out. I needed to get home, I  _ needed  _ to get home…

 

After another half hour of walking, I got closer and closer to the cathedra/hub of the city. I noticed that the shiny urban towers were slowly being replaced by smaller, more monolithic types of stone buildings similar to the library tower of Felicity Creek. Did the architects that built the library also have a hand in designing this portion of the city? Interesting…Even the road built for cars just abruptly stopped a great gate leading to ‘The Cathedral District.’ I gulped as I read a rhombus-shaped sign with highly ornate words engraved into its shiny silver surface.

 

_ “Humble thy soul, for you enter the home of the Saviour’s Divine Majesty. May his Radiance cleanse thy soul and guide you to salvation.”   _

 

Underneath this grand sign was a smaller, less ornate one, stating many rules about entering this district. 

 

_ “No eating, drinking, running, technology, sinful garbs or pokemon are allowed in this hallowed ground. Failure to obey will result in a beating from the Holy Police.” _

 

O-oh...that was reassuring...should I even enter…? I was carrying food...and I was a pokemon... _ and I was in the buff _ …(I think)

 

Just to be safe…

 

“Hello?!” I yelled one last time beyond the holy gateway, waiting for a lack of response. Getting beat up or hit again was the last thing I wanted…once I knew that the coast was clear of any police, I proceeded into the Cathedral District; if only to catch my bearings.

 

Inside of the fence was a large overgrown garden of sorts, with a cobblestone path leading me towards the heart of this place. Beautiful marble statues of human figures were dotted all around this holy place. It was admittedly quite beautiful. Especially because of all of the marble bridges and rivers running through the place. Even despite the lack of proper maintenance, this place was surprisingly well preserved.

 

I turned my head upward to face the great sky above, my vision dominated by the giant mountain that stood behind the city. It was utterly awe-inspiring. Also, as an added bonus to this beautiful religious garden, the rain that plagued my time in the city finally decided to let up. It was almost like the miserable clouds parted over this district. Thank goodness...hopefully, it’d get warm enough for my fur to dry out. I must’ve smelled like wet dog at this point. Yuck.

 

But at last, I was in a giant plaza, with the grand cathedral standing in the middle of everything. It stood proudly with three towers jutting into the sky, two at the southward facing entrance, and the third (and tallest) standing at the back of the building. All three had silver statues standing atop, all in the same pose as the great statue atop the mountain. All pointing south. Across its stone walls were stained glass windows, all colored a similar shade of blue to my short fur. Even the rhombus symbol was there. It must have been an important symbol to my kind…

 

The place even had a moat surrounding it, with the towers constantly pouring more water into it via artificial waterfalls. I was drawn to this stunning building, slowly approaching its entrance. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not...but I could’ve sworn that I heard some sort of distant heavenly choir leading up the steps and to the grand doorway. 

 

I stood at the entrance for a moment, staring upwards at the two giant wooden doors with ornate carvings decorating it; one of which was already slightly open. I inhaled sharply, I didn’t need to be here...but something within drew me to go inside.

 

I pushed the open door further, stepping into the religious building, searching for whatever it could hold for this human turned riolu…

 

**_End of chapter..._ **

* * *

 

 

(AN) hoo boy, that took far longer than I thought it would, but at least I still got it done. Thankfully, now that this is passed, I can finally move onto the stuff I’ve been dying to write for months now.

 

Once again, this has been TheLastRanger,

 

Peace. 


	8. Chapter 8: Black & Blue

(AN) now. Before we begin this loooooong chapter, I'd like to clarify that I'm gonna be fixing up previous chapters of continuity problems, and making minor changes to chapters and scenes, so when the next chapter drops, there will be some story changes. Just a heads up.    
  
But without further ado, let’s begin! 

****

**_Chapter 8: Black & Blue_ **

 

**Matt**

 

The interior of the cathedral was unwelcomingly cold as I passed through the grand doorway. The entrance room was a large atrium of stone with light pouring in from the multiple stain glass windows, bathing the entire room in a very familiar hue of light blue. 

 

Across the walls were many rows of wooden benches, all pointed to the back of the room: where a raised shrine stood proudly. Above that, was the biggest of all the windows. It was the same cyan blue and was also in the shape of another rhombus. The window was also decorated with the human god in all of his beauty. He was depicted with his hood still up, looking upward to the heavens with what appeared to be a blue moon in his hands that rested in front of his chest. I slowly walked down the center of the aisle, the light cyan carpet below feeling quite fuzzy on my feet. This building was beautiful…

 

Across the walls ceiling was depictions of stars and planets, making its own little cosmos in this room. I could even spot a few galaxies portrayed here and there. So, my kind...did they worship what was beyond the planet?    
  
I could still faintly hear that holy choir in the distance, I’d investigate, but I quickly concluded that it would just waste time doing so. Just like the rest of the religious district, this holy building was frighteningly well preserved.

 

I slowly made it to the altar, climbing up the large steps up to the tall table. Atop the altar provided a good view of the main aisle. I had even noticed an upper floor above the main entrance, however, it was shrouded in darkness. I examined the area for a brief moment, before shifting my attention behind me; towards the simple wooden stand.

 

Behind the surprisingly tall stand was a stool; likely for shorter holy people to stand on to deliver their speeches. I hopped on the helpful boost, feeling a wave of authority wash over me. I overlooked the room once more, imagining the gaze of all the humans that would be fixated on whoever stood upon this podium. The mere thought of all those people looking at me…

 

But atop the stand was a simple brown book decorated with (shockingly) yet another cyan rhombus in the middle. Below humanity’s favorite symbol was the title of this book. 

 

‘ _ The Oracle.’ _

 

This must’ve been the holy book of this religion. I was about to open it, but I hesitated. Should I…? I-I could be disrespecting the culture...I wasn’t exactly a holy person qualified for this type of thing. It didn’t help that I was inhabiting the body of a pokemon. I stared at my blue paws once again, before gulping. I was gonna regret this...

 

I carefully opened the book with one hand, being gentle as I possibly can. The cover was surprisingly heavy and landed with a thud after I accidentally dropped it. I tried investigating whatever was written down in ‘The Oracle,’ but to my surprise, (and disappointment) the entire thing was written in a completely different language. Strange runes and symbols made up the contents of every page; paired with the odd astral diagrams, made this thing utterly impossible to even decipher. Who could even read this? Somebody with a lot of time and patience to learn whatever this enigma had to say. I sighed and shut the book. It was clearly all written in that strange dialect. I’d take it with me, but the excessive weight of the book would be a massive hindrance to my poor back.

 

I hopped down from the stool, about to take my search elsewhere, but—

 

_ “No luck with that nonsense, eh?”  _ a sharp feminine voice called out from the rafters of this building, causing me to practically jump out of my fur. I trembled as I desperately tried to find the origin of the voice, but the darkness up there made it next to impossible to see whoever said it.  _ “I had the same problem too, those humies certainly knew how to be cryptic!” _

 

“S-s-show yourself!” I desperately called out, quickly dropping my bag and rummaging through it for my weapon. I quickly acquired my knife, holding it with both paws in front of me, slowly moving backward. “N-now!”

 

_ “Oh...alrighty then.”  _ Within a flash, the upper floor was illuminated by a window revealing itself as a tarp of some kind fell down. The light dazed me for a moment, but I refused to break my line of sight with whoever was up there. Atop the safety rails stood the silhouette of a relatively short bipedal pokemon, with a hand placed on her hip. I squinted to try and see what pokemon she was. She was rather slender, had strange bumps protruding from her forearms and also had two pointy ears along with two strange tendrils that hung from her temples— _ she couldn’t be...could she…?  _ I heard her giggle for a moment, placing a hand up to her mouth.  _ “What’s wrong? Never seen another riolu before?” _

 

She quickly placed her hands in front of the opposite shoulder, jumping down and spinning in mid-air. The female riolu landed with a heavy thud, revealing herself even further. Around her neck was a large puffy navy blue scarf with a silver brooch decorating its front; which also had a small sapphire housed in it. Over her eyes were a pair of dark sunglasses, obscuring her eyes almost completely. 

 

I took a few more steps backward, continuing to point my blade at the strangely dressed pokemon. W-who was she…? 

 

“Relax, I’m not going to kill you!” she held her paws up to try and reassure me, before slowly walking towards me with a smirk on her face. I held my ground, but let her come closer. Once we had a good distance between us, we stared the other down.

 

“W-who are you?!” I demanded, refusing to put my blade down. “And what do you want with me?!” 

 

“No need to get feisty with me... _ bluey,”  _ she casually shrugged, beginning to slowly circle around me, scanning me thoroughly. “my name is Riley. Riley the Riolu. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” 

 

I slowly followed her with my eyes, turning my body around when my neck couldn't turn any further. 

 

”I-I said ’who exactly are you?’ answer my question!” 

 

“A natural born inquisitor…” she scoffed, flicking an aura tendril aside with her paw. Riley stopped dead in her tracks, staring at me from behind tinted black lenses. “...but if you want an answer, I  _ suppose _ I could tell you…ahem, I am Riley the Riolu, mercenary extraordinaire!” 

 

She was a mercenary?! Oh no…

 

“M-mercenary?! Who hired you?! Are you another one of those knights?!” I yelled desperately aggressively pointing my knife at her; to which she didn’t even flinch at.

 

“Knight…? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shrugged, fearlessly taking a few steps towards me which caused me to move away from her. “I’m here on behalf of the F.C.P.D. Here to turn you in. Simple.”

 

She edged closer to me with the same smug expression on her muzzle.

 

“Riolu adolescent, wielding a human-made knife,” the female canine pointed out, subtly angling her head down to my weapon. ”I think you fit that description quite well...don't you?”

 

“T-there could be  _ plenty  _ of adolescent riolu who have a-an interest in knives!” I awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of my head bashfully.

 

Riley was silent for a moment, before reaching into the depths of her scarf and pulling a small, strange blue metal rectangle out from it. With an elegant flip of the wrist, she turned it inside out; which revealed a small yet razor sharp looking blade. I think it was a butterfly knife.

 

“I suppose I  _ do  _ fall into that category too…” she pondered as she started doing tricks with the weapon. She could seriously hurt herself with that… ”but, there are two things we don’t have in common,” she flicked the blade shut with a metallic snap and started staring at me. “and they would be your lovely brown eyes. I’ve seen few riolu in all fifteen years of my existence, but I’ve never seen one with eyes quite like yours.”

 

“I—you see...uh…” I started mumbling. C’mon...there had to be an excuse I could use…

 

“They’re filled with fear,” she stated as her smile dropped. She entered my personal space, staring at me through her sunglasses. I could faintly make out her eyes that were gazing adamantly into my own. “a kind of fear that often comes from being alone... _ abandoned _ …” 

 

H-how did she—?

 

“...speaking of loneliness…” Riley began again. “Eyewitnesses report that you had an accomplice. An adolescent eevee girl. Just  _ where _ is she—?”

 

“L-leave her out of this!” I shouted at her. “She didn’t do anything wrong!” the mere mention of Hazel hurt me again as tears stung at my eyes. I...I couldn’t show weakness...not in front of this mercenary. “W-we decided to part ways earlier…”

 

“Hmph...more work for me I suppose…” Riley smirked at me coyly. “...like

I always say; ‘what’s a huntress without the hunt?’ Perhaps she will make a more interesting target than you—”

 

The thought of this riolu hunting down Hazel immediately made me panic...I wanted her to be safe! I wouldn’t let this merc hurt her! 

 

“D-don’t you dare…” I gripped my knife as hard as I could, refusing to point it away from her; which she was quick to notice. “...l-leave Hazel alone—!” I immediately shut my mouth after accidentally revealing my friend’s name. W-why did I say that…? 

 

“Hazel the eevee huh…? Cute name...” she pondered for a moment, before turning her attention to my knife. “...oh, and bluey? It’s generally impolite to point your weapon at a  _ lady _ , y’know?”

 

Riley smirked even more as she came close to me, only putting an inch or two between us. We made brief, yet exceedingly prolonged and awkward eye contact; which started making me sweat. It certainly didn’t help that she was slightly taller than me. Her eyes slowly looked up at my forehead, at my newest accessory.

 

“Nice goggles. They suit you.” 

 

“Wha-? M-my goggles?” I looked up at them too, touching them with a free paw and pulled them down over my eyes, smiling gently as I did so. “T-thank you...I think they suit me pretty well too—!”

 

I was immediately cut off by a swift paw grabbing the wrist of my hand that held the knife, angling the blade away from both of us, as her other paw grabbed my other arm just above the elbow. I let out a confused squeak as I felt myself get pushed back into a pillar. Ngh

—! Immediately, I began squirming in her hold, desperately trying to break free. 

 

“L-let me—!”

 

“Rule number one of fighting! _Never_ let your guard down or be distracted!” Riley barked in my face loudly, causing me to physically flinch. “I didn’t become a _‘mercenary extraordinaire’_ by failing these basic steps!”

 

Riley quickly let go of me, taking a few steps back and crossed her arms, tapping her foot on the ground. Sh-she let me go…? What was with this girl…? Whatever the case, if she was wanting a fight, she was getting one!

 

Riley adjusted her glasses with her right paw, before beckoning me with it. She wore a cocky smirk as she did so. 

 

I gulped, gripping my knife as hard as I could. I lunged for her, thrusting my knife to stab the riolu. She suddenly sprang into action, quickly placing the side of her left paw under my wrist as the right quickly grabbed my knuckles. Before I could even react, her left paw traveled from under my wrist to her right paw; completely locking my arm within hers. With a left quick turn of her body, she snatched my blade from my paw and hopped back; successfully disarming me. 

 

“W-wha?!”

 

“Heehee, rule number two!” the young riolu giggled as she threw my knife to one side by the blade. It flew and stabbed the wall, getting lodged in the marble. “... _ don’t  _ be predictable! I saw that coming from a mile away! But...I’ll give you a second chance. Fight me!”

 

She put one leg in front of the other, bending the outstretched one slightly. She bent her arms upwards, defending her face and chest, while also hunching over somewhat. A fighting stance. With her usual cocky smirk, she beckoned me over with her left paw, before immediately putting it back where it was.

 

I gulped and studied her for a moment, refusing to remove my goggles; purely because I didn’t want her seeing the pure fear in my eyes. 

 

_ “Ok, Matt...you can do this...you’re not outnumbered like before. One riolu versus another...this isn’t entirely unfair.” _

 

I scanned her stance, mimicking it as best I could. In all honesty, I didn’t know what the stance was all about, but it looked highly defensive. Anything that’d help would be useful here.

 

“Oh…?” Riley tilted her head at me. “...Good stance, I like it.”

 

“...” I held my stance, licking my lips nervously, refusing to even break my line of sight with her. Riley raised her brow, not breaking her own pose. 

 

“...you’re not  _ entirely  _ naive, it seems…” she quickly broke her stance and started running towards me.  _ “...but let’s see if you know how to use that stance!”  _

 

I braced myself for impact as, within a flash, she was in point blank range and began her assault. Within an instant, her right paw was already rapidly going for my chest. I internally panicked, desperately trying to block the attack by quickly putting both arms in front of my chest. I was quick enough to block it, though the punch to my wrists was painful. I cringed in pain as I wobbled from the rather forceful attack. She started a vicious onslaught of quick, yet light blows to my arms. I tried blocking them as best I could, but she was pretty damn fast and painful. 

 

But as she reached in for yet another punch, somehow, I miraculously caught her wrist with both of my hands. Her eyebrows raised at my speedy block. I started exerting as much crushing pressure as I could upon her arm, refusing to let go. Riley physically winced in pain, which only motivated me to grasp tighter.

 

“N-ngh...you’re pretty damn strong, kid…” she choked, clenching her teeth. “...strong…” her trademark smirk returned, albeit looking rather pained. “...but  _ not the sharpest! _ ”

 

Before I could even respond, her open left paw had made contact with my face, just above my muzzle. I immediately released her as a hellish stinging feeling enveloped my face and knocked me back, stunning me for a moment. A moment that she quickly used to her advantage by quickly performing a sweeping kick that hit my legs, knocking me completely off my feet. 

 

“Ngh—!” I cried out as I hit the carpeted floor below with my back, shooting pain up and down my spine. I tried pushing myself up off the ground, but a weight just above my waist forced me down. It was Riley; quickly taking a seat on my stomach to keep me down, straddling me. She smirked and cracked her knuckles, flicking an aura tendril aside. I attacked her with a punch before she could do the same to me, but she quickly put both of her arms together, hiding her body and face behind her forearms. My knuckles and the grey bumps on her arms made contact. I shrieked as my hand cracked on the solid material on her arms. 

 

She chuckled at me from behind her cover. 

 

“Natural bone armor _ ,  _ handy, isn't it?” her tone was cocky and arrogant. A tone that, for whatever reason stirred anger in me...

 

…

 

Natural bone armor? So that’s what those bumps were for…I could use that actually…

 

I saw the riolu pull back her arm for a punch, likely aimed for my face. I took the initiative to block her using the same method she did to block my attacks as fast as I humanly could as I placed my arms together, but now I had my natural armor pointing towards her. I anticipated an attack, but one never came, she must’ve known what I was up to.    
  
I gulped and took my chances by quickly grabbing just above her hips, taking her by surprise. Using all of my strength, I forced her off of me by pushing her to my right. She hit the ground with an audible thump and grunted in a mixture of surprise and pain before I scrambled to my feet and jumped away from her. Within a flash, she was back on her feet too.    
  
We stared each other down, she cracked her neck as I started whispering my family’s motto under my breath. 

 

_ “The Wolfe never yields, the Wolfe never yields, The Wolfe never Yields…”  _

 

Ngh...it wasn’t reassuring me any...if-if I could defeat that bisharp...I could beat her too…

 

I shot a quick glance over to the door that was still ajar. I thought about taking my chances and retreating...I could easily disappear into one of these buildings and wait for her to go away...that would go against my family motto...but…

 

“Running from your problems,” the female riolu suddenly spoke up and adjusted her sunglasses, her usual smile notably missing. “won’t actually fix them. You’ll be caught in an endless cycle of running and hiding, living in constant fear. It is a  _ coward’s  _ way of living. Are you a coward?”

 

“I-I...ngh…” I cringed as I tried to think of a suitable rebuttal, my mind coming up completely empty. Was I a coward…?    
  
“Tsk, how disappointing,” Riley dropped her shoulders, wearing an exaggerated frown. “You’d think someone with your strength and quick learning skills would be a half-decent fighter…”

 

Was she...complimenting me…? I had the ‘mercenary extraordinaire’ basically saying that had potential? I-interesting…or was she just trying to soften me up with compliments again? Something about these compliments felt more...genuine…? It was strange... _ she  _ was strange.

 

I subsequently forced my attention away from the entrance of the building, focusing it entirely on Riley; who smirked in response. “Looks like you  _ do  _ have a bit of a spine in there.” 

 

“...” I remained silent as I scanned the environment with my eyes. Thankfully, my goggles hid my eyes quite well so she couldn’t see what I was up to. I quickly scoped out my knife that was still stuck in a wall behind her. I needed it. With a gulp, I began running towards her; which she braced for. But instead of engaging her as I got at point-blank range of her, I shoved her out of the way using whatever strength and momentum I could muster up. I heard her gasp quietly as she stumbled to my left. (Though she kept her balance, unfortunately.) I didn’t even look to see if she was all right as I thankfully reached my trusty weapon. I pulled it out of the wall quite forcefully, almost tripping myself up as it came out. With my knife in paw, I quickly turned around to face my foe, who stood only a few meters away from me with an unamused stare.

 

“Hmph...I should’ve seen that one coming...but I’ll give you that one. Now,” she pulled out her own knife, its blade pointing outwards in her hand; the opposite way to how I held mine. “shall we continue our dance—?!”

 

All of a sudden, an ear piercing noise sounded throughout the entire building, causing us both to grab our ears in pain. The noise sounded a total of six times, each of which was even more painful than the last. The peace of silence blessed us both as we stood stunned in the middle of the room. We had even dropped both of our knives.   
  
“...” I was silent, not to keep show weakness, but instead because that noise was so hellish to my ears.

 

“...” she opened her mouth to try and say something, but her own shock was overpowering her. But after almost a full minute of tense silence, she eventually spoke up. “...oh shit.” her head immediately darted to the door as she picked up her blade, I mimicked her.   
  
“W-what the heck was that?!”    
  
“Those were the bells of this stupid cathedral!” she hissed with gritted teeth, as she took a few steps back. “But that’s the  _ least  _ of our damn worries!”   
  
“Wha—?!”

 

“You better brace yourself, Blue! Because we’re in for a  _ whole  _ lot of trouble now!” Riley barked at me, before mumbling to herself. “...why did it have to be in this building…?”

 

_ “What are you talking about?!”  _ I asked, panic clear as day in my squeaky voice. 

 

“Ferals! They just  _ love _ loud, attractive noises! And we’re at the damn origin of the noise! Can you put the pieces together yet?!”    
  
A sinking feeling hit me like a swift punch to the gut. I was in more danger than I was already in. I gulped and gripped my knife even harder than I already was.

 

“Look, if we want to make it out  _ without _ getting mauled, I suggest that we put our differences aside and fight as a team! Follow my lead, and get over here!”    
  
I hesitated for a moment, repeatedly looking to her and to the door. “I...ngh…”

 

“I’m not going to stab you or anything!” she lowered her weapon, just to prove that she was telling the truth. I took a gamble and took a place by her side. She immediately held her hand out for whatever reason. “...Truce?” 

 

I considered my options for but a moment before coming to the conclusion that working with her would increase the chances of survival. I shakily took her paw and shook it. “T-truce.”

 

“Good, your head is screwed on straight it seems,” we raised our weapons in anticipation. “Now brace yourself. Oh, and Bluey? You might wanna reverse-grip your blade there, that makes it easier to attack with. You’re not wielding a sword, y’know?”   
  
“O-oh, thanks...”  I flipped the blade around in my paw, so it pointed downwards like hers. “W-wait, couldn’t we just shut the door?”

 

“No point. No doubt a garbodor or something will barge it down…” Riley grumbled.   
  
A moment of anxious waiting passed before we saw a feral tranquill peek its head through the door, scanning the room before noticing us standing here. It loudly squawked at us, ruffling its feathers and began quickly coming for us. It lifted itself off the ground with fully extended wings.

 

_ “Quick attack! Get out of the way!”  _ I could barely even register her words as she dived away from me. While my reaction was somewhat delayed, I still managed to barely avoid the quick bird’s attack. Before I even hit the ground as I dived out of the way, I physically felt the tranquill whoosh by me. I caught myself with my hands and knees as I landed on the carpeted floor with a thud. Shooting a glance over my shoulder; I saw the bird pokemon slow itself down as to not fly into the back wall of the holy building. It stopped itself by landing in front of the altar, turning around and squawking again.”Shit! We’ve got more ferals coming in! I’ll cover the entrance, you handle the bird!”

 

“R-right!” 

 

I anxiously gripped my weapon, pushing myself up to my feet. I shot a glance to my now ally; who seemed to be holding her own surprisingly well against a few trubbish and even a voltorb. I saw her keeping one of the living trash bags at bay with her foot as she elbowed the electric ball in the face and plunged her knife into another trubbish; which cried in agony as it was stabbed. She did this all the while a few more ferals started creeping in. Admittedly, she was pretty amazing…

 

But I had no more time to gawk at the riolu’s combat finesse, I-I had work to do!

 

Instead of letting it make the first strike again, I forced myself onto the offensive by running quickly to the bird and pulling my arm back to strike it with my blade. It screeched in pain as I lightly cut its left wing, though it did be only briefly stunned by the attack; much to my dismay. It followed up by pecking my shoulder, which stung like all hell and made me drop my weapon.   
  
“N-ngh…” I winced as I saw some of my own cyan fur stuck in its beak. It continued its pecking assault, most of which actually hit me in either the shoulders or chest. Some I was able to block some of its attacks with my boney forearm bumps.

 

Using somewhat quick reflexes, I narrowly grabbed the bird’s mouth with both paws to keep it back. But Riley’s words when I held her arm with both hands rung throughout my head. 

 

_ “Strong, but not the sharpest!” _

 

Using my memories of what transpired only a brief few minutes ago, I removed a paw from the tranquill’s face, using it to strike the bird right above the beak with a force palm; which knocked it back significantly. It gave me a good opening to further attack, no way I’d give a chance like this up! With a swift punch to the face, I successfully knocked the bird off of its talons. While it was down, I took the initiative to force it down, sort of like Riley would by placing my foot on its neck. I grabbed my knife and held it high to go for a fatal strike. 

 

But…

 

But something stopped me…

 

I stared into the eyes of a hurt, confused wild animal whose life was surely about to end. It struggled under my weight, obviously trying to escape. I couldn’t bring myself to kill it...it probably had a few fledglings back at its nest that’d likely perish without their parent. I lowered my knife and simply punched it between the eyes, knocking it unconscious. Just to be sure, I held my hand on its chest, nodding in relief as it’s heart still beat. For as long as I was in this world, I vowed not to take a single life… 

 

Nodding to myself with my new rule, I ran over to Riley, who was still outlasting her opponents quite fiercely. Around her feet were remains of the trubbish she eviscerated, along with the voltorb which was either unconscious or just straight-up dead. She fought off another trubbish two as a pidove was flying around her, trying to peck her. Gulping, I ran over to assist her. I quickly kicked one of the trash pokemon away from her as I got close. (even if I almost tripped myself doing it.)

 

We exchanged looks for less than a second, before nodding to each other.

 

She cracked her knuckles and engaged the trubbish I had kicked away by sprinting over to it, punching the pidove out of the air in the process. Yikes…I was glad we were on the same side now…

 

I was light on my feet as I turned to the single living trash bag. I tried to crack my knuckles like Riley, but all I did was hurt my hands as they cracked... _ ow... _ I guess it’d take a lot of practice to be half as good as her…WIth a newfound aching in my paws, I made the first move by lunging forward quickly at it, swiftly kicking it in the mouth; which knocked it back across the carpeted floor. I felt a twinge of triumph within me because of my little victory! Ha! T-take that you living piece of garbage-

 

In my self-congratulatory state...I failed to avoid the sludge bomb that hit me directly on the leg; knocking me over. Where the ball of filth hit me, I felt a horrible stinging sensation that was paired with stickiness...it was awful...it felt like my whole leg was being weighed down by the filth as I tried to stand up. It started to ache too...ugh...this was bad…

 

The trubbish slowly inched its way closer and closer to me, groaning as it appeared to be readying another sludge bomb just for me. With a gulp, I rolled out of the way of the gunky attack it shot at me, wincing as it almost got me. I hissed in pain as my leg stung from the previous attack. I lunged over to the trubbish, punching it between the eyes. My hand punctured the bag, dirty trash practically exploded out of the trubbish, coating my arm in trash and goop.  _ Ew ew ew! _ I gagged, before freezing up entirely...I-I probably killed it...I broke my own rule...tears stung at my eyes as I withdrew from it and started trembling.

 

What have I-?

 

But suddenly, it groaned…? Seemingly unphased by the injury, it tried approaching me, but a swift thrown knife from behind struck it, stunning it. It shrieked in pain as Riley attacked from behind, picking her knife up and plunging it into the top of it. I-if I didn’t kill it..she definitely did. The overly feminine riolu through the sentient bag of trash aside, clapping her hands off. She too was covered in gunk and dirt, and by the look of it, she wasn’t that happy about it. 

 

“You wouldn’t  _ happen  _ to know flamethrower, would you, Bluey?” she asked, her usual smirk slightly appearing on her lips.

 

“N-not that I know of...sorry…w-why?”

 

She turned her attention to a pile of unconscious trubbish. “...Reasons.”

 

Was fire the only way to truly destroy a trubbish?

 

W-well...I was sure-fire that nothing was immune to fire…

 

“Not bad, not bad...you gotta work on your footwork, though,  _ Blue _ . You’ve got two left feet! Or paws, whatever you wanna call them.” She grinned at me, her paws placed firmly on her hips. Her gaze shifted from me to our handiwork. Letting out a coo of satisfaction, my female counterpart stretched her body, loosening up her tight muscles. She...she was pretty cool...I just hoped I could have the confidence and skill that she had… “Talk about heresy, though...the human God isn't gonna be very happy we trashed his building, ha!”

 

“P-probably not a clever idea to insult an all-powerful being in his holiest building…” I mumbled with a frown.

 

“Hmph, you should also learn what a sense of humor is too,  _ Blue _ .” Riley playfully scoffed and punched my shoulder...somewhat painfully...ow...note to self, don't be as rough as her…

 

“I-I have a sense of humor!” I barked in response, crossing my arms and tapping my foot.

 

“Shoot.”

 

“S-shoot…?”

 

“Ugh…” She sighed. “give me your best joke!”

 

Flinching, I hastily responded.

 

“W-what did the congested rock type say when border patrol stopped him?” I smiled in anticipation” “I can't pass, because I have—”

 

“ _ nose-pass.”  _ The female riolu quickly interrupted. “I've heard that one a  _ million _ times before! you need better material,  _ Blue _ .”

 

“B-but I ma—”

 

**_“Garrrrr…”_ **

 

A loud groan cut our little comedy routine short. We both quickly looked at the door once again, starting to back away from it. Before we could even comprehend what happened, the doors were knocked off their hinges entirely by a garbodor... _ an unnaturally large one at that. _

 

“Oh, my stars!” both Riley and I muttered in unison, staring the colossal pile of garbage down. We exchanged a worried glance for a moment, before nodding.

 

_ “You take his left, Blue!”  _ The female riolu hissed, taking charge and sprinting for it.  _ “I’ll take his right!”  _

 

_ Oh no... _ the Wolfe Never Yields, Matt...the Wolfe N-never Yields...ngh…

 

Swallowing deeply, I ran towards it too, holding my knife so tightly it physically hurt. Hopefully, the human God smiled at me to give me strength here...I was one of his subjects! 

 

Almost the second I got close, the living garbage dump’s tendril-like left arm tried to swat me away but I was quick enough to slide under it just in time. Jumping up to my feet, I lunged to its side and stabbed it...which was  _ so  _ effective that it didn't even flinch... I was gonna have to be creative with this...How would I-?!

 

In my moment of pondering, its horrible arm thing wrapped around my leg and hoisted me up, holding me upside down. Oh God! I struggled in its grasp as it brought me closer to its abominable face.  _ Was it trying to eat me?!  _ My attempts to struggle were fruitless...it was too strong…

 

“R-Riley!” I called out in panic. “Help!”

 

Without responding, the riolu threw her blade into the garbodor’s arm. It got stuck in front of me. I quickly grabbed my ally’s weapon and desperately cut the part of the arm that held me up. I fell, bracing myself for a painful landing, only to feel that I was caught by Riley! She held me in a bridal hold...we awkwardly stared at one another for a brief moment. 

 

“Th-thank you, Riley…”

 

“Don’t get too mushy with me now,  _ Bluey! _ ” She swiftly dodged a giant sludge bomb that was shot at us. I quickly wrapped my hands around her neck and clung to her in panic. “Has anyone told you that you're a bit girly?!”

 

“N-now’s not the time for that! Do you have a plan?! It's just shrugging our attacks off!” I hissed as Riley carefully put me down. 

 

“I’ve got this handled!” she barked. You just need to distract it for me to get a—!” 

 

The beast brought its right hand down with a terrifying roar. Riley swiftly dived out of the way while I narrowly stumbled out of the way, falling down onto my butt. I pushed myself back with my feet and took shelter behind one of the benches of the aisle and began scoping out my surroundings for any environmental advantage…

 

“ _ what’re you doing, Bluey?! I need some backup here!”  _ Riley called out as she gracefully danced and weaved past the garbodor’s attacks. Ngh...hopefully she could hold out for a little longer…

 

The voltorb she knocked out before…that could be a handy makeshift explosive… I then noticed the several trubbish that Riley had previously eviscerated slowly putting themselves back together in a rather disturbing manner. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding to myself. I hoped to whatever god that this would work. 

 

“R-Riley!” I called out and jumped to my feet. I saw her turn her head to me in acknowledgment as she was on the flailing garbodor, continuously stabbing its face...to no avail. “I have a plan! J-just keep it in place and distracted!”

 

“This better work, Bluey! I'm getting a bit worn out here—” she suddenly gasped as she was punched by off the sentient pile of trash, flying onto a nearby balcony with a thud. Ouch… “...I’m ok!”

 

Thank goodness. Swallowing my fear, I sprinted over to the barely conscious voltorb that was lying in the middle of the remains of several trubbish by a pillar and picked it up over my head. Ngh... _ this thing weighed a ton! _

 

_ “Volllt…”  _ it groaned in pain. 

 

Almost tripping due to a stray sludge bomb from Riley and the garbodor’s battle, I made it to an out of the way set of stairs and began running up them as fast as I possibly could, reaching the balcony I first saw Riley on. I peeked out of the large rhombus shaped window that overlooked the cathedral district of the city...thankfully, it was all clear of feral Pokemon. Thank goodness…

 

I walked over to the handrails and peered over. Riley had kept the beast in its place under this balcony! Awesome! A-alright...here goes nothing… 

 

I quickly and forcefully karate chopped the top of the voltorb, my hand cracking from the contact painfully... I hissed in pain as the orb Pokemon began ticking and glowing... _ it was also becoming really darn hot!  _ Without hesitation, I dropped it over the rails and directly onto the garbodor’s head...it made quite the crater where it landed…

 

“ _ Riley! Hit the deck!”  _ I barked as I ran to the corner of the balcony nearest the wall, crouching down and shoving my fingers in my ears; bracing myself for an explosion. 

 

The building shook violently as the voltorb detonated inside the garbodor, resulting in an ear-piercing bang... I felt lucky that I wasn't immediately deafened by that! The stench of burned trash flooded my nostrils instantly. Shakily standing up, I looked off the balcony at the result of my little plan. Trash was  _ everywhere,  _ a voltorb lay knocked out in the center of a scorched piece of floor and smoke was everywhere...I did it…

 

But a worried lump formed in my throat as I couldn't find—

 

“Nice thinking,  _ Bluey.”  _ Riley's sharp voice complimented from behind. I turned around and saw her walking up the stairs I used, a big smirk on her face. Oh, thank goodness…

 

“Riley!” I happily called out, quickly taking her into a hug. “I’m glad you're alright!”

 

“I-I uh…” She muttered, lightly patting my back with one paw awkwardly. “Ahem…”

 

“O-oh...sorry…” I broke the hug and took a step back from the riolu, staring at my feet.

 

“You dropped these, by the way.” She handed my knife and backpack to me.

 

“T-thank you...uh...now what…?”

 

She looked at the heavily damaged cathedral and sighed, turning around and started to walk. 

 

“Let’s get outta here...I need some fresh air from all the smoke you made with your little bombing…”

 

“Ditto…”

 

Riley and I dragged ourselves out of the Grand Cathedral of Vigrade and onto the bridge that lead to it, exhausted and slightly injured. But very much alive. Even if our usually fluffy fur had become several shades darker, thanks to the dirt that was ingrained into it. I could physically  _ feel _ the dirt, and it made me wanna puke…Sometimes I wish I didn't have this darn fur...

 

The sun had just begun to set in the sky above, giving it a beautiful orange hue. the light when reflected off of all the great modern towers of yesteryear. Though gorgeous, the weather started to cool significantly. I should really find shelter, soon…

 

“So, ” the female riolu started, shooting a side glance to me, a smirk on her muzzle and with a hand on her hip. “I’m reasonably impressed with how well you danced with me in there. You were pretty sloppy, but you show some good potential...and it usually takes a  _ lot  _ to Impress me.”

 

”D-dancing…?” I tilted my head, my aura tendrils dangling to the side. Before I could say anything else, Riley's arm quickly wrapped around my shoulder and forcefully pushed me into her side; which made me jump out of my fur somewhat. G-great…if one set of dirty fur wasn't bad enough... I now had another set touching me…

 

“fighting, dummy.” she enthusiastically patted my shoulder. Her grip around me was forceful, but oddly...welcoming? “you’ve got some serious potential, buddy. At least, I think you do.”

 

“I-I...thank you, Riley…” I stuttered, confident she wasn't using her compliments as she usually would. I trusted the way she held me this time. Hold on a second...wasn't she here to apprehend me…?! I thought about struggling, but I supposed I was already in her grasp. I licked my lips and lightly asked; “w-what now…? Weren't you trying to arrest me or something…?”

 

Her full attention landed on me as she fully turned her head at me. I could see my own reflection in her sunglasses.

 

“I would've, ” she bluntly stated with her trademark smirk plastered on her face, patting my shoulder again, a strange comfort washing over me. For whatever reason, I felt a kind of safety around my new…‘ally.’ She  _ did  _ take out that giant pile of living trash mostly by herself, I suppose. “but... I like the way you dance, boy. And for that, I'll let you off the hook this time around. So enjoy your freedom…”

 

“Y-you’re just letting me go…?”

 

“On  _ one  _ condition. Continue to prove yourself to me, and I won't bring you to the police, capiche?”

 

“...” I gulped, hesitating to even ask her what was on my mind. “...w-what is it you want with me…?”

 

“a good fight. Nothing more,” she explained while adjusting her sunglasses and brushing the dirt out of her fur. “being the best of the best gets a bit boring after a while, no good fights...you get me?”

 

I simply nodded in response. Out of all of the characters I've met in this new world, were they all as eccentric as Riley or Hazel…?

 

_ Hazel… _

 

The mere thought of that eevee stung me deep to my core again. 

 

“But anyway.” Riley sighed and stretched. “those... _ ferals… _ messed up my fur coat...can’t take you in looking like a mess now, can we?”

 

“Uh…”

 

“rhetorical question…” her smile dropped as she continued to stare at me, a light sigh escaping her lips. She adjusted her shaded and nodded to herself. “I suppose you deserve a little reward for helping me out back there…”

 

Before I could even react, both if her paws quickly grabbed my cheeks and pushed my head down, so I was looking down at the ground and her feet. What was she…? Riley stood on the very tips of her toes before I felt my goggles get pushed aside and a quick, slightly wet sensation met my forehead.  _ Wha…?! _ It took but a moment to realize what she did.

 

She kissed my forehead…

 

I quickly looked up to her for an explanation as my face started to burn. I saw her wiping her lips with a paw.

 

”Don't overthink it,” she simply stated with a neutral expression as she started to turn on her heel, likely to leave. “now, if you'll excuse me, Bluey, I've got places to be, fur to wash, Y’know? Ciao for now. ” she shot a glance back at me, a cocky smirk on her face.  _ “Matthew.” _

 

She knew my…? 

 

I was stunned in a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment. It took a minute to even register what she even said, and when I did, she was already gone…where did she…?

 

”R-Riley! Wait!” my voice echoed throughout the Cathedral District. “H-how do you know my...name…?”

 

Again, I was all alone...

 

The wind blew gently over me as I stood in the now silent city, giving me a moment to comprehend what just happened in that building. We won, I guess... I started walking away from the holy place, deciding to continue my original plan. I needed to get home. I shouldn't have even investigated that darn cathedral..though if I didn't... I likely wouldn't have made an unlikely ally out of her. Who was she? Why was she so interested in a good fight…? I suppose that I should've asked her more...perhaps next time we meet, I could inquire more.

 

I shook my head and pulled my map out of my bag, looking for the district where I lived in relation to where I was. With a somewhat determined nod, I set off for the residential district…

 

 

Lunar Street, tower...4! Aha! Here we are! 

 

I stood at the base of a decently large tower; which stood near a large park with a lake in the center. The streets around were as desolate as they usually were and with the now twilight lighting hanging above the city, things were getting quite unnerving. Not to even mention the harsh and cold wind. Hopefully, this building could provide decent cover. I took a glance around at the city, before reaching up on my tippy toes to pull down on the door handle. Being the height of a human seven-year-old was going to take a  _ lot  _ of adjusting to…

 

The old door creaked open slowly, revealing the reception area of the building. The floor was made out of rather expensive white tiles that were very cold to the soft pads on the bottom of my feet, brr…the wallpaper was a simple white too, with the blue outlines if plants running up it. This certainly wasn't my style…at least this place still had working lights, somehow. I walked up to the main desk, trying my best to ignore the cold floor beneath me. I didn't know why I walked up to it, I doubted that anyone was even in this building anymore...was it instinct maybe? Again, I had to make myself as tall as I could to simply see onto the desk. It was cluttered with old papers and was unbelievably dusty. Ugh…but my eyes immediately spotted something on the desk.

 

_ Ding _

 

I couldn't resist...that bell was  _ asking  _ to be ringed. 

 

I checked the to the left of the main desk, seeing that there were two elevators. Sweet. 

 

Upon further investigation, (and pressing the darn button several times.)  the elevator refused to come down. Typical. I'd open the elevator doors to see where exactly the lift was, but I wasn't willing to accidentally kill myself in the process. That and my arms hurt enough from the whole fiasco in the cathedral...best not to strain them even more. Guess I was taking the stairs...

 

Next to the elevators was a door marked ’stairs.’ I internally thanked that I only lived on the third floor, else this climb would be  _ very  _ unbearable for my poor, aching legs. The stairway was a lot less ornate or decorated than the reception. It wasn't that surprising…the dust in here stung at my poor nose...whatever the case, I had to press on. A knot formed in my stomach as I climbed the steps upward. I highly doubted that I would meet my family here, but it was worth a try, I could have even found some clues as to where they were! 

 

I eventually reached the floor I needed to be at, number 3. The hallway was decorated with the same lavish tiles and wallpaper as the reception, but it also had a few dusty pictures of generic landscapes and such. My stomach felt funny as I peered out of the window to the empty streets below. Ngh...guess I didn’t like heights either…

 

“Room five...room six…” I muttered to myself as I passed the doors of this surprisingly long hallway, before stopping at one last door. I gulped, shakily grabbing the doorknob and turning. Thankfully it was unlocked...or wait...the lock was completely broken... “Room number seven…”

 

I swallowed and braced myself, pushing the door open…my old home…

 

The door lead into a large, box-shaped living room area that was well furnished with expensive looking couches and tables. Heck, even one of the walls was just a large window. This place was utterly luxurious! Luxurious...but empty. I slowly stepped across the wooden floor to the center of the room, a feeling of familiarity washing over me. I was attracted to the largest couch in the room, it was navy blue and highly comfortable to the touch. Directly in front of it was the massive wall-mounted television. The sheer size of it alone was rather intimidating. Surprisingly, it came on when I pressed the button, however, only static appeared on this screen. Interesting...perhaps a DVD player could work. I pondered for a moment, before shaking my head...focus, Matthew…

 

My eyes landed on a nearby fireplace, more specifically, a large portrait above it. Standing in the middle of it and taking up the most space, was my dad. He looked the same as he did in one of my strange flashbacks, however, was missing his sunglasses and he was wearing a decorated military uniform that was all white. He wore a determined grin on his pale face and stood with his hands on his hips, looking very large and in charge. To his right, was my older brother, Jeb. He stood with his hands behind his back and with the same grin and uniform as Dad. He was just Dad but looking about twenty years younger.

 

But then I spotted three people I had not seen before, and they immediately caught my attention. Standing to the left of my dad was a woman, coming up only to the bottom of his neck. Her skin was slightly darker than the two men, and her hair was a dark blonde and worn in a ponytail, which clashed against the lab coat she wore. Her expression, however...her face was lacking much emotion whatsoever, minus the very subtle smile on her face. If I had to guess...I'd say this was my mother, judging by her age. Even despite her cold exterior, she was still rather beautiful in her own way. She had her left hand on the shoulder of my fourth family member; who was sitting on a short stool. A teenage girl who resembled my mom in terms of facial features and minimal expression, though she was pale and had long, jet black hair and was wearing a white summer dress of sorts.

 

Last but not least, sitting to the bottom right of my dad was another...girl? Strange...why wasn’t I in this picture—wait a second... I peered closer at this last person. Though they had shoulder length golden hair and a rounded and quite a cute face, they definitely were a boy upon closer inspection. He wore a simple, but smart white shirt with dark blue dress trousers and smiled somewhat nervously while clutching our pet riolu, Lady, on his lap. His body language looked uncomfortable as anything…

 

That blonde, somewhat feminine looking boy...was me. 

 

I peered at this picture of myself for what felt like an eternity. I didn’t look anything like my dad or brother, I resembled my sister and mother a  _ lot  _ more. A lump formed in my throat. That was  _ me.  _ Happy tears stung at my eyes as I studied the picture. I knew what I looked like! I knew what I looked like…a flicker of hope shined in me. I also knew what my family looked like. Well, my immediate family at least. 

 

All right, I now knew what they looked like. I should investigate my house further, for clues. Where to start…? I had noticed that this room was  _ very  _ tall, it turned out that one of the living room walls was actually the bottom of a raised platform, I could even make out some safety rails on top! I must’ve lived quite the life if  _ this  _ was my home…

 

I scoped out some stairs in the living room, walking over to climb up them, my hands securely placed on the handrail. Paintings and framed photographs hung on the walls on both sides of the stairway, most of which were either landscapes or pictures of my family and I. We looked so happy in these pictures...Though, every picture of myself I saw portrayed me as looking a bit nervous or shy. Ugh...cameras...out of all the feelings that are coming back to me, of course, it had to be a negative feeling surrounding cameras...well, as long as my memories were coming back piece by piece…

 

At the top of the stairs was a landing that lead in two directions, to my immediate left was an open door that lead to a hallway, while to my right was the top of the raised platform before. Before I could even choose where to go, I caught a whiff of some sort of smell...that smell...it was oddly...familiar. It was a  _ very _ potent and herbal smell, reeking of trees with a hint of...lemon? But it was a rather delicious smell, though it was a tad overwhelming. I sniffed around, determining that it was coming from the right. I decided to follow this strong scent. Atop the indoor balcony was a dining area with one big table in the middle and with five chairs around it. Two on each side and one on the end. To my ’surprise’, I was too short to properly see what was on top of the darn table. 

 

I was about to pull a chair out, but I saw something out of the corner of my eye; a large plant pot with a sizable bushel in it. That must've been the source of the smell! I rushed over to the plant, taking a few good sniffs of it. The scent hit me like a thousand tonnes of well-perfumed bricks...this was  _ definitely  _ the source of that delicious smell! The plant itself was rather tall, consisting of several branches with thin, upward pointing green leaves. Atop the branches were little purple flowers that were just starting to bud. 

 

This plant was so pretty! What kind was it? I just had to know! I looked around the plant and the pot for any clues as to what it was. My investigation was short-lived, however, as I had found an empty packet of seeds on the floor next to the plant pot. Bingo. I picked it up and started reading.

 

‘Rosemary.’

 

Rosemary? Huh, so that's what it— _ Ngh! _

 

My vision flashed blue again, my aura tendrils starting to hover. Another vision…I dropped the packet of seeds and fell to my knees, closing my eyes and preparing for a flashback to appear. I smiled to myself, knowing that this vision was likely going to be a pleasant one.

 

…

 

Vision was slowly returning, the blue haze slowly clearing. I heard the rustling of a packet and a light voice complaining about something. I focused as hard as I could on it.

 

_ “C-c’mon...open…”  _ the voice muttered, struggling to open something. Almost immediately, I figured that this was my own voice. M-mainly by the stutter…

 

When I could actually see, I saw that I was looking down at the packet of Rosemary seeds, my long golden hair hanging down too. I appeared to be sitting on my knees in the same place I was before having this vision. Convenient…from what I could tell, I was wearing simple blue shorts and a white t-shirt. My skin appeared to be smooth, and almost completely hairless. Hairless or my hair was so blonde and my skin was so pale that it was almost impossible to see. 

 

My past self sighed, dropping the packet on my lap in defeat. I looked up at the same plant pot, before turning around to the table.

 

_ “S-sis…?”  _ I nervously asked. Sitting on the closest chair to me, was my ebony haired sister, wearing the same basic shorts and T-shirt as me, casually reclining with her feet up on the table. In one hand, she held an expensive looking phone, scrolling through it with her thumb. Her other hand was gently stroking our pet riolu. The blue canine was all snuggled up on my sister's lap, her crimson eyes barely open.  _ “C-could you help me open this?” _

 

_ “...”  _ My sister looked at me from the corner of her eye, her expression was rather cold. Without a word, she turned her phone off and placed it on the table before picking our pet up and standing. She took a few steps to me and held the riolu out to me. “... _ sure...hold Lady for me…”  _

 

I took the small blue dog in my hands, holding her up by the hindquarters and back. Almost immediately, the riolu hugged me and rested her head on my shoulder, letting out a light coo of comfort...aww...I could distantly feel her fur brushing against my skin. I felt so warm...

 

_ “...” _ my sister stared at me, a gentle smile on her calm face as she picked up the packet of seeds and opened it with relative ease. _ “...she’s such a suck-up…” _

 

I held the (I was assuming) tired riolu puppy with one hand as my black haired sister placed a single seed in my free hand. I observed the small brown seed in my palm before digging a small hole with one finger and placing the tiny plant inside and buried it, refilling the hole with dirt. To my side was a glass of water that I immediately poured into the dirt...gardening? I-It was slowly coming back to me. A fondness of flowers...that's right! I can remember how much I loved maintaining this plant!

 

I cooed in satisfaction and wiped the dirt off my fingers, standing up fully and placing my free hand back on Lady’s back. My sister and I stood at about the same height...which didn't appear to even be that tall...was I just doomed to an eternity of shortness, regardless of being a human or pokemon…?

 

_ “...If the teachers ask, ”  _ she began, “ _ tell them I actually picked out and researched the flowers or something...I don't wanna lose any more marks in this stupid horticulture class than I already have...”  _ the once subtle smile had since disappeared from her face, replaced by her usual expressionless...expression. I wish I could remember her name…what was it again…?

 

_ “h-heh...can do, Lucy…” _

 

Well, that just answered my question. So her name was Lucy? So my dad was James, my brother was Jeb, and now I remembered my sister’s name...thank goodness...I’d have my memory back in no time at all! What was my mother's name, though? I had utterly no clue as to her identity...

 

_ “Matthew! Lucy!”  _ a third, almost electrical voice rang out, causing both my sister and myself to look off of the indoor balcony. It sounded like dad’s voice, but...very strange and muffled. Standing in the living room was a very large man wearing a very militaristic police uniform with his hands on his hips, he wore a white shirt under his grey body armor and with pitch black trousers, boots, and gloves. But most frighteningly, he wore a dark grey gas mask with glowing blue eyes and had some kind of baton along his belt...and a pistol holster on his hip. Along his chest it read in golden letters; ‘Holy Police Captain.’ W-was that my dad in that uniform?! His voice was terrifying...  _ “Stop slacking off, you two!  If you keep screwing around with your little flowers, you’re gonna miss the holy teachings at the cathedral, and I doubt you have any good excuses for missing those! So put that damn dog down, and get ready! Go!” _

 

_ “Y-yes, sir…”  _ I mumbled, staring down at my bare feet that pointed inward, my toes practically touching. Even as a human, I looked nervous as anything...

 

_ “...Yes, sir…”  _ Lucy quietly obliged, turning on her heels and going down the hallway by the stairs. I quickly followed her as she entered the first door on the left. Inside was what must’ve our room; I could tell by the two beds that had various different items on the shelves and bedside table. In a corner was a small table with two seats on either side and an unfinished game of chess on top of it. Looked like black was winning. Lucy shut the door behind us and sighed.  _ “...asshole…”  _

 

_ “Shh! H-he could hear you, you know!”  _ I hissed and placed the riolu down on my bed, petting her gently. She let out a sad whine and stared at me with big red eyes.  _ “S-sorry girl...we won’t be too long...hopefully…”  _

 

I sat down next to Lady, slipping a simple pair of sandals on; my sister mimicking me on her bed. I noticed that on my shelves and table were books and papers, most of which were about history and other similar subjects, while Lucy had electronics and fashion objects on hers. My black-haired sister stood up first and left the room, leaving me to comfort the riolu before I left. 

 

Wait...no...already?! The blue haze started filling my vision once again...just when I was getting comfortable, too…

 

Before the aura faded completely, I heard myself speak once more in a sad voice.

 

_ “I-I hope mom will be there…” _

 

Mom…

 

When vision returned, I woke up, still kneeling by the rosemary plant. Was I still a…?  I quickly looked at my body, seeing the all too familiar dark grey and blue fur coat I had. Yep...Still a riolu...darn it. I still had the empty packet of seeds in my paw. I stood up and discarded the little packet, noticing how dim everything had gotten. It was definitely nighttime now. I looked out the huge window, at the old city and the clear skies above. The way some of the skyscraper’s lights were still on was oddly...comforting. This feeling...not much fear or anxiety...I was home. I  _ would  _ find my family. Even if would take years of searching...T-the Wolfe never yields…

 

I let out a long yawn, my eyes growing heavy. All of today’s excitement must’ve tuckered me out...with a light smile on my muzzle, I proceeded to my old room. Inside, nothing had changed. Even my bed had the same blue bed sheets like in the flashback, a corner already folded inwards, practically inviting me to sleep. I stripped down to nothing, placing my goggles in my rucksack and placing it up against the foot of my bed. I

Climbed into the bed... _ oh my gosh...so comfy~  _

 

So familiarly warm, too. I wrapped myself up all cozy in the large bed. I may have been utterly alone...but at least I felt comfortable for a change... I let out a quiet sigh, curling up into a right ball 

 

Tomorrow was another day. I was sure to investigate further in the morning...

 

**Sir Gardevoir**

 

Ugh...how long did these bloody magnets stay up for?! It was past midnight and they showed  _ very  _ little sign of weariness. Ahaha~ I suppose if you’re a floating magnet ball... _ thing... _ sleep wasn’t very necessary...this was not bloody fair! I wanted to lurk around this place for information! Ahaha~

 

I lay down in this precinct safehouse’s rather comfortable bed, waiting for the perfect moment to... _ slink~  _ I scanned around the dark room and its bland decor...somebody ought to hire an interior designer for this miserable place. I mean seriously? Two beds, a table, a bookshelf, and a couch. What a trite room. On the basis of this room’s hideousness, I was going to have to leave and investigate. I elegantly climbed out of the bed and slowly made my way to the door to the safehouse, approaching the magnamite officer guarding the entrance. The metal sphere gave me a funny look as I got close.

 

“evening ma’am—”

 

“Aren’t you tired, Mr. Policeman?” I asked, innocently tilting my head at him.

 

“Well, not really no—“

 

“Well, congratulations, you’re tired now.” I grabbed his face…? Uh...his front and unleashed a hypnosis attack. He didn’t even make a noise as he fell asleep instantaneously. Before he could drop to the floor and make a big thud, I caught the officer...bloody ‘ell...he weighs a ton! I struggled to even walk with him in hand, but I managed it eventually, putting him down on the couch and clapping my hands in success. Excellent! Time to... _ investigate, ahaha~ _

 

I closed the door behind me as gently as I possibly could, opening up into the dark wooden hallways of Felicity Creek’s police precinct. With light steps, I walked to the first open door, eavesdropping on whatever conversations I could listen to.

 

_ “...are we still holding this yungoos in custody? I mean, all he did was jeer at an eevee and get into a light altercation with a riolu…” _

 

_ “That’s not the full story, Mark. This punk here has a long history of jeering at girls and getting into altercations.” _

 

_ “Hardly a criminal offense—” _

 

_ “And he sells X eye seeds in the black market for people to tweak out on.” _

 

_ “Oh. Well...I think we should make the cell key…‘disappear, ’ hehe…” _

 

_ “haha...we should.” _

 

Hmm...this wasn't a very interesting conversation. Moving on! 

 

I proceeded down the hallway, looking into whatever poorly lit rooms I could. Most of them had detectives and officers silently doing paperwork and looking at evidence... _ yawwwn… _ looked like the police of the East were just as boring as the Western police. Ugh…

 

I wonder how detective Booker was getting on? He  _ was  _ the lead detective of this case, so he’d definitely have the juiciest evidence and information in his office! All for me~

 

Just uh...where was his office again…? This place was too big! 

 

…

 

After a short while of searching this large building, I eventually reached a familiar office. The door window read ‘Detective Booker Scofield, ’ so I definitely was in the right place! I saw the silhouette of three pokemon inside. One was obviously a magnamite, stood at the foot of the desk was a small canine, probably the growlithe I saw him within the museum. And the last was a strange floating disk of some kind, with clawed arms dangling at the bottom of its body. They were all discussing something, something that wasn't gonna be very private for long...ha. I opened the door ever so slightly with telekinesis to listen in.

 

_ “...and I said to him, he wasn't gonna do any time;”  _ an eager voice chirped from behind the door.  _ “he was just gonna do hard time! And then I slapped the cuffs on ‘em!” _

 

Ugh...that was terrible. From the way his comrades groaned, I think they agreed with me, ahaha~

 

_ “For God's sake Jim, that was the worst one yet!” _

 

_ “Yo! I don’t say this a lot, but I agree with Booker here!”  _ I heard the growlithe sigh deeply.  _ “Yo...are we done here? Because my girl ain’t gonna be happy her bed is so often cold. And when she’s upset...fuggedaboutit.” _

 

_ “Almost, Conroy, Almost;” _ Booker responded, his voice sounding notably weary. The sounds of rustling paper caught my attention.  _ “We’ve gotten reports from our border officers that one of the five suspects in the museum mess has been apprehended and arrested—” _

 

_ “That’s good news!” _ The jolliest of the three cheered...at least someone in this building knew what fun was, aha~

 

_ “...by Minuetmon scouts just outside of the border.”  _ The detective sighed deeply.

 

_ “That’s bad news…” ‘Jim’ gulped nervously. “C-couldn’t we just go to the Minutemon and ask them for the fugitive and/or arrest them for unlawful arrests?” _

 

_ “Yo, you try arresting a highly organized militia..fuggedaboutit. I ain’t gonna be the one to put you back together.” _

 

_ “Even if we could, they're outside of our borders; and by extension, our jurisdiction. And I doubt the west even cares enough about what’s happening over here to arrest the fugitive for us…In brief, we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place here. How that one escaped so quick is beyond me...all we can do is hope that the other four didn’t somehow escape. Hopefully, that merc I hired is doing her damn job…All right Conroy, Jim. You can go home now.”  _

 

Uh oh...I immediately hid behind a tall and conveniently placed potted plant, peering through the leaves at the office door as it opened. First to leave was the growlithe, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He didn’t even bother saying ‘goodbye’ to his friends...how uncouth! He just walked down the hall to the exit, going through a catflap that was built into the door. Aww…

 

Next to leave was a metang, his spirit and enthusiasm beaming in his red eyes, the lateness of tonight not seeming to even phase him that much. 

 

“Goodnight, Booker!” the metang hummed, waving at the magnemite. “See you in the morning!”

 

“yeah yeah...whatever…” the magnetic ball sighed as he closed the door behind him, locking it and following his comrades out of the station.

 

Excellent! The coast was clear! Time to do what I do best! I cracked my knuckles and slunk to the locked door. Tsk tsk tsk...silly Booker, using such a primitive and easy-to-lockpick lock! No lock can withstand my brilliance!

 

With a click of my fingers and a flick of my wrist, I telekinetically unlocked the door, the lock making virtually making no noise. Finesse was always a handy tool~ I quickly entered the office and locked the door behind me. The room was dark and silent, the only ambiance provided being the gentle ticking of a clock. How...relaxing. But anyway, I wonder what juicy little secrets our magnetic friend has up his metaphorical sleeves…?     
  
I crept over to his worn wooden desk, pulling out the chair he provided me last time we were in here and sitting on it. I cracked my knuckles and started examining files with little hesitation. I didn’t particularly care about what most of them said, but like I always say; _ no secret is too secret for me, ahaha~ _

Ah...sifting through case papers in an old dusty office reminded me of my good old days working with the law... _ until that bitch ruined everything... _ I don’t see why Starmie still keeps her and her lowborn filth of a husband in captivity...it would do the world good favor or two...ugh...stay vigilant, Gabriel...I have important matters to attend to.  

 

Lessee here...local murder cases...bank robberies...aha! The Museum Incident. This should be most fascinating~

 

_ “Large scale brawl leaves Felicity Creek Museum in shambles; suspected terrorism,”  _ Failed assassination, more like…  _ “eyewitness account testifies that a riolu was the sole instigator of the incident, though four more suspects were in the scene. Investigations ongoing...”  _ Yada yada ya. 

 

Ahaha~ good stuff. Though...I suppose a few... ‘minor’ alterations wouldn’t hurt  _ too _ much I suppose~ I teleported a pen in from my little pocket dimension and began to ‘improve’ the articles. A few little tweaks here and there...a little-falsified testimony aaand-

 

Hold on.

 

A sketch of one of the suspects...that little eevee with the riolu/lucario fetish...I picked up the picture to look at her. She looked...oddly familiar...have I seen her before? Her soft face, her glasses...the book poking out of her bag...no... _ it couldn’t possibly… _

 

Lord Starmie wouldn’t like this information…

 

_ This was the lost daughter of Martyn and Lana Fox… _

 

**End of Chapter...**

  
  



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